Morning Oral Sessions: 9:30am - 11:30am
Session AM: Bugs and Biotech, South Meeting RoomSession BM: War and Justice from Caesar to Nixon, Conference Room 177
Session CM: House of Cards: Political Systems and Incentives, Conference Room 389
Session DM: Physical Sciences and Math, Board Room 376
Session EM: Physical Sciences and Math, Conference Room 481
Session FM: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Conference Room 367
Afternoon Oral Sessions: 1:15pm - 3:15pm
Session AA: Biological and Biomedical Sciences, South Meeting RoomSession BA: Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Board Room 376
Session CA: Arts and Humanities, Newcomb Art Gallery
Session DA: Arts and Humanities and Digital Humanities, Conference Room 367
Session EA: Physical Sciences and Math, Conference Room 177
Session FA: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Conference Room 481: FA
Poster Presentations
School of Architecture: 9:30am - 11:30am, Newcomb GalleryMorning Poster Sessions: 9:30am - 11:30am, Newcomb Ballroom
Afternoon Poster Sessions: 1:15pm - 1:15pm, Newcomb Ballroom
Morning Sessions
Bugs and Biotech
9:30-11:30 am, South Meeting Room
Got fat? The link between lipids and hepatitis C virus
Key Words: Hepatitis C, lipid synthesis
Abstract: Hepatitis C is a chronic inflammatory liver disease that affects 2-3% of the world's population. The etiological agent of hepatitis C is the hepatitis C virus (HCV), an RNA virus that is heavily dependent on lipid metabolism for its propagation. Indeed, infection of hepatocytes with HCV results in increased de novo lipogenesis (DNL), the process of generating fatty acids from acetyl-CoA. The enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of DNL. However, the DNL's contribution to hepatic lipid stores is minimal, indicating that the bulk of lipids available to HCV are derived from extracellular sources. In this study, we used novel inhibitors of ACC to distinguish between the contributions of de novo synthesized lipids and those of lipids obtained from the extracellular environment in HCV infection. We find that inhibition of ACC decreases HCV RNA due to a specific reduction in viral replication, assembly, and export. Supplying cells with fatty acids, which are the end products of DNL, selectively rescues viral assembly with no effect on viral replication. These results pinpoint a selective role for DNL in HCV replication and suggest that qualitative differences in the source of lipids may influence the pathogenesis of hepatitis C.
Presenter #1: Sowmya Narayanan, Biomedical Sciences
Immunoregulatory functions of Hepatitis C Virus: How a virus turns you against yourself
Key Words: Hepatitis C Virus, Immune dysfunction, MDSC
Abstract: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 200 million people worldwide. About 80% of these patients cannot clear this infection, develop chronic hepatitis, resulting in liver failure or liver cancer. HCV's ability to establish persistent infection can be partly attributed to its immune evasion strategies, including the generation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). MDSCs are immature myeloid cells with suppressive functions that are characteristically found in malignancies and in infections with certain pathogens, including HCV. Our lab was the first to report the generation of MDSCs in viral infections: we found that the core protein of HCV is a potent inducer of MDSCs, which in turn suppress the effector function of T cells. NK cells play an important role in controlling HCV infection and disease progression. They are the first responders in infection, and their IFN-γ production is vital in clearing the infection. Patients who do not develop chronic infection have functional NK cells that are able to produce IFN-γ. On the other hand, chronic patients have dysfunctional NK cells. Hence, it is important to identify and understand mechanistic links between MDSCs and NK cells. Previously, we showed that HCV-induced MDSCs suppress NK cell IFN-γ production via an arginase-1-dependent mechanism.Here, we take a step further and show that the MDSC-induced arginine deprivation affects the NK cells by impairing the mTOR pathway that is essential in protein translation and the production of IFN-γ.
Presenter #2: Celeste Goh, Biomedical Sciences
Bordetella pertussis Adenylate Cyclase Toxin's Inhibitory Effects on Biofilm Formation via Interaction with Filamentous Hemagglutinin
Key Words: Bacterial Toxin, Biofilm, Regulation, Protein Interactions
Abstract: Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of Whooping Cough, secretes and releases a bacterial adenyl cyclase, Adenylate Cyclase Toxin (ACT), into the extracellular milieu. ACT is a protein bacterial toxin that targets host cells, disarms host immune defenses and serves as a protective antigen against infection. In the current study we elucidate a novel regulatory role for ACT during biofilm formation. The molecular mechanism by which this phenomenon occurs is via ACT's physical interaction with Filamentous Hemagglutinin (FHA), a surface displayed adhesin required for biofilm formation. The ACT-FHA interaction was discovered in earlier studies, but the consequence of this interaction was until now, unknown. Exogenously added ACT inhibits biofilm in a concentration-dependent manner and the catalytic domain of ACT (AC Domain) is both sufficient and necessary for this inhibitory effect. AC Domain is sufficient to bind FHA as measured by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). The inhibition of biofilm by AC Domain is blocked by calmodulin (CaM), which binds the catalytic domain to activate enzyme activity. CaM also inhibits the binding of AC Domain to FHA, measured by SPR. Further characterization of the FHA-ACT interaction reveals that AC Domain is capable of inhibiting biofilm formation only when the distal tip of FHA, the Mature C-terminal Domain (MCD), is present and in the correct conformation. Currently we are determining the ability of ACT to bind the MCD. This inhibition of Bordetella biofilm formation by binding of AC Domain to FHA reflects a novel role for a protein bacterial toxin.
Presenter #3: Casey Hoffman, Biomedical Sciences
Systems Analysis of Cardiac Remodeling Through Mechano-Signaling Networks
Key Words: systems biology, cardiac mechanotransduction networks
Abstract: Afflicting over 5 million Americans, heart failure usually involves dramatic growth of ventricular myocytes. Although current therapies primarily target the chemical ligands behind hypertrophic deterioration, biochemical signals are likely secondary to mechanical cues in driving cardiac remodeling. We have developed and validated the first model of the cardiac mechano-signaling network, an integral part of the hypertrophy pathways leading to heart failure. To create the model, which encompasses 76 nodes and 130 reactions, we reconstructed pathways using a logic-based differential equations approach. We substantiated reactions with citations from the literature, and then predicted species dynamics. Input-output predictions of the model achieve 96% agreement with observations from independent literature. Surprisingly, the model predicted smaller responses to knockdowns than has been experimentally observed (59% agreement), indicating that current pathway descriptions in the literature may be ignoring key synergistic relationships between parallel network modules. To validate these model predictions, we also developed a high-throughput experimental system. We designed a device which applies strain to membranes on which cells are growing, simulating the stretch experienced by intact cardiac myocytes, and traced the growth of individual cells using fluorescent labeling and automated microscopy. For example, our experiments exposing cells to 18% strain with and without BAPTA, a Ca2+ chelator, demonstrate that our stretching device induces hypertrophy in cardiac myocytes, and validates our model's prediction of Ca2+ as a key signaling hub. By enabling a systems analysis of cardiac mechano-signaling, our model offers insight into how the heart interprets the diverse array of stimuli it encounters.
Presenter #4: Philip Tan, Biomedical Engineering
Modeling Fibroblast Signaling to Predict Modulators of Fibrosis
Key Words: cardiac, fibrosis, modeling
Abstract: Increased fibroblast activity and ECM deposition contribute to decreased cardiac function and worse outcomes in heart failure. Cardiac fibroblast signaling pathways have been studied in isolation to determine their effect on ECM production and degradation, but how these pathways are integrated to determine cellular decision-making in a complex signaling environment is difficult to study experimentally. In order to provide insight into the integration of fibrotic and anti-fibrotic signals we have developed a large-scale, logic-based differential equation model of cardiac fibroblast signaling. The signaling network incorporates known interactions from 11 pathways up-regulated in cardiac fibroblasts following cardiac injury. The network model currently validates 84% of input to output and multiple-input to output relationships from independent literature findings in rat cardiac fibroblasts. For example, the model accurately validated the decrease in collagen activation with application of NE even if previously stimulated with TGFB (a known pro-fibrotic signaling molecule). The model also predicts a role for TGFB signaling in AngiotensinII-dependent upregulation of alpha smooth muscle actin. This prediction is currently being investigated experimentally. A systematic and comprehensive sensitivity analysis identified nodes within the network that are most influential or most sensitive to signaling changes under different signaling contexts. This analysis revealed a context-dependent role for certain nodes, such as B-integrins which up-regulates ECM proteins under stretch signaling but decreases ECM protein activation under TNFa signaling. Drug-target interaction data from Drug Bank was used to predict fibroblast activity with application of 14 FDA approved drug in the database. The drug-dependent change in activity was predicted for each node in the network under different signaling contexts in order to identify therapies most likely to modulate ECM production. This study represents the first use of a computational model of a cardiac fibroblast signaling network to predict context-dependent signaling and drugs that modulate cardiac fibrosis.
Presenter #5: Angela Zeigler, Biomedical Engineering
Carbon nanomaterial based microelectrodes for neurotransmitter detection
Key Words: Carbon Nanomaterial, Neurotransmitter detection
Abstract: Carbon nanomaterials have potentially useful electrochemical properties, including fast electron transfer kinetics and high surface area. The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in fabricating large electrodes has been widely demonstrated but the reproducible production of small, sensitive CNTs-based sensors is not as well studied. Our lab has investigated several different techniques for making CNT-based microelectrodes and investigated their response using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. We have developed vertically-aligned CNTs on metal substrates as microelectrodes with chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The alignment of CNTs and the inherently high conductivity of metal substrates determine the sensitivity of the microelectrodes for nano-molar detection of neurotransmitters. We have also used CNT yarns/fibers as microelectrodes due to their different adsorption/desorption properties for dopamine that allow them to be used with higher temporal resolution without a decrease in sensitivity. Thus, CNT-based microelectrodes are advantageous as high sensitivity and high temporal resolution electrochemical sensors for neurotransmitters. Other types of carbon nanomaterials could be advantageous for microelectrode sensors as well, such as a different type of edge-plane graphene, termed carbon nanospikes. Carbon nanospikes are formed with plasma-enhanced CVD and do not require a catalyst. Preliminary electrochemical tests reveal that they have promising electrochemical properties that depend on the metal substrate they are deposited onto. Overall, this talk will explore the development of carbon-nanomaterial based microelectrodes for neurotransmitters detection. The ease of making different types of microelectrodes will be compared, as well as the electrochemical properties and implications for their use in vivo.
Presenter #6: Cheng Yang, Chemistry
Targeting virulence factor synthesis with a metabolic model of drug-resistant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Key Words: computational systems modeling, metabolism, virulence, antibiotic resistance, pathogen
Abstract: Alternative approaches to treating opportunistic pathogens are desperately needed to stem the rising incidence of antibiotic resistant infections. Traditional antibiotics often target gene products essential to growth of a microbe; as an alternative, we investigate virulence-related targets. Combination treatments that reduce virulence will handicap a pathogen's ability to adapt to the human host, reducing bacterial load, host inflammation, and community coordination that contributes to the development of resistance to traditional antibiotics. We evaluate complex interrelationships between growth and virulence-linked pathways using a new genome-scale metabolic model of P. aeruginosa PA14, an opportunistic pathogen known for its intrinsically high virulence. Our new model is a substantial expansion of previous models of P. aeruginosa PAO1; additional genes and pathways account for the potential function of 73 hypothetical proteins and putative gene functions as well as the activity of 77 virulence-linked genes, including expansion of virulence factor synthesis pathways to 19 unique compounds that promote the maintenance of an infection. Computational screening on clinically relevant media identified gene deletions resulting in virulence-linked production inhibition using a quantitative metric of tradeoff between synthesis of virulence factor versus biomass. This systems approach allowed us to class gene deletions that are inhibitory to virulence factor synthesis, growth, or both as unique therapeutic targets; successful experimental inhibition of pyoverdine synthesis using PA14 mutant strains with disruption of selected gene targets justifies our approach and quality of predictions as well as provides potential new targets for therapy that sidestep traditional selectors for antibiotic resistance.
Presenter #7: Jennifer Bartell, Biomedical Sciences
Prognostic and therapeutic potential of growth-differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) for basal-like breast cancer
Key Words: Cancer
Abstract: 10-15% of breast cancers lack expression of all the therapeutic targets most commonly used to treat the disease. These cancers can be highly heterogeneous in their cell phenotypes, and these heterogeneous tumors have poor prognoses. However, standard biochemical techniques blur heterogeneous behaviors with population averaging. We have engineered a method to uncover regulatory heterogeneities, and the TGFβ family member ligand growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) was predicted to be heterogeneously regulated in breast epithelia. We cultured a panel of cancerous breast epithelial cells in three-dimensional culture with exogenous GDF11. We observed that GDF11 treatment blocks invasion seen in several breast cancer cell lines. However, we also found that many basal-like breast cancer cell lines could not transduce GDF11 ligand. Furthermore, we observed that other breast cancer cell lines could not secrete GDF11. Last, mutations for downstream mediators of GDF11 signal transduction occur frequently in breast cancer cell lines and clinically. Taken together, these data suggest that responding to GDF11 is selected against in progressing basal-like breast cancers. In clinical specimens, we observed sporadic immunoreactivity against secreted GDF11 in advanced triple-negative cancers. Interestingly, using an antibody against the unsecreted form of GD11, we observe that GDF11 appears to accumulate in the Golgi apparatus. These data may suggest that GDF11 is functionally lost in advanced breast cancers. Lastly, we observe that GDF11 secretion decreases in a subset of precancerous lesions, suggesting that loss of GDF11 could be the final step that causes these precancerous lesions to invade.
Presenter #8: Sameer Bajikar, Biomedical Sciences
War and Justice from Caesar to Nixon
9:30-11:30 am, Conference Room 177
Rawls, Intergenerational Justice, and Climate Change
Key Words: environmentalism, climate change, political theory, John Rawls, liberalism
Abstract: In recent years, political philosophers have worked at creating a suitable framework to address environmental issues--most seriously and notably climate change--in accordance with the basic assumptions of liberal political theory. Given his centrality to the tradition, it is not surprising that much of this work has drawn on John Rawls. Yet, Rawls repeatedly expressed doubts over whether problems concerning "what is owed to animals and the rest of nature" could be handled from "within the scope of justice as fairness." In this paper, I address the apparent discrepancy between Rawls and those who appeal to him by critically examining the resources Rawlsian theory offers. Following the literature, I focus specifically on his account of intergenerational justice and argue that while it can be extended to address certain, well-defined environmental problems as matters of justice, the scope of these problems and the environmental protection afforded may be considerably more limited than political-ecologists would find satisfying or than is arguably required to answer the problem of climate change effectively.
Presenter #1: Ross Mittiga, Politics
Peace Church Cold Warrior: Elton Trueblood and the Influence of Niebuhrian Thought on the Presidency
Key Words: Nixon, Christian Realism, Vietnam, Niebuhr
Abstract: One of the most important theologians and thinkers in the Religious Society of Friends during the course of the twentieth century was David Elton Trueblood. A professor of philosophy at Earlham College, Trueblood was a prolific and popular author on religion. Yet his most important contribution was his repudiation of the traditional Quaker teachings of pacifism and his influence on another Quaker, Richard Nixon. Due to the horrors of the Second World War, and his growing appreciation for the Christian Realist thought of Reinhold Niebuhr, Trueblood came to believe that pacifism was not a tenable philosophy. By the mid-1950s he had developed a theological rationale for why Quakers should support nuclear proliferation. His views that Communism posed such a significant threat that it required military retaliation would be important in legitimating his coreligionist Richard Nixon's willingness to resort to violence during the Vietnam War. By accepting Niebuhr's understanding of Christian Realism as being harmonious with Quakerism, Trueblood would become Nixon's ally and his leading advocate within the denomination. While neither Trueblood nor his understanding of Niebuhrian thought can be said to have definitively shaped Nixon's outlook, both did serve an important role in protecting Nixon from any kind of Quaker religious critique of his actions. Understanding Trueblood's life shows the profound impact that theological views can have on politics.
Presenter #2: Isaac May, Religious Studies
Liminar subjects, between Islam and Christianty
Key Words: Islam, Christianity, Conflicts
Abstract: The current conflicts between the Islamic world and the Christian West are part of a very long history of wars and negotiations. Spain is a key country where these two traditions have been in constant interaction. The undeniable Islamic influence in Spanish history undermines its goal to become a Western European country. The famous convivencia between Muslims and Christians is now celebrated and presented as an utopian past. However, Marroquin immigrants are rejected and discriminated. Can we learn from Spain history to deal with the current conflicts between the US government and ISIS?
Presenter #3: Diana Galarreta-Aima, Spanish
No More Can There be a Just War
Key Words: Just War, Ethics, Feminist Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Cross-cultural exchange
Abstract: I argue that the tenets of Just War, particularly when taken as an agreement or rule set, are inapplicable to contemporary warfare especially against terrorist organizations. Nevertheless, the notions and motivations behind just war are meritorious and there is good cause to not eject them fully. As such, I posit that the tenets and requirements of Just War be undated, and that this be done with a mind to particle application in current engagements. My project begins by justifying the classification of Just War today as an agreement or rule, as opposed to as a one-sided moral code like some have considered it. Then, I explore various facts of the matter about modern warfare, especially against terrorist organizations, that prohibit Just War from being effective, if even applicable. I base my positions in considerations of Special Obligations, requirements of Dikaiological exchange, Testimonial Injustice, and Hermetical Injustice. After I give reason to modify Just War, I provide some suggestions for ways in which to do so, looking especially at Eastern traditions.
Presenter #4: Tony Boese, Philosophy
Billy Graham in the Civil Rights South: A Little Rock Case Study
Key Words: Civil Rights, Little Rock, Religion
Abstract: On a cool Monday morning, September 23, 1957, a harrowing yet familiar crowd began to converge on the perimeter of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Not even twenty days had lapsed since the eyes of the nation-and, indeed, the world-were turned to the hideous eruption of mob-like confrontation in that otherwise moderate and undistinguished capital city of the Sunbelt South. Daisy Bates, the civil rights pioneer and president of the Arkansas NAACP Conference, was once again preparing to lead her humble troop of nine African Americans teenagers to the steps of the public schoolhouse. What followed is now recognized as one of the most defining episodes in the Civil Rights Movement-involving no less than America's most well-known pastor, Billy Graham, the 101st Airborne Division, the Governor of Arkansas, and the President of the United States. This paper will narratively explore the subtle and fraught dynamics of this powerful episode in the Civil Rights South, with special attention given to the role that religion played in sustaining, resisting, and challenging social norms. How should we make sense of this historical moment in light of its forthcoming 60th anniversary and in the wake of recent racial tensions from Florida to New York to Missouri? We will examine these questions with an ear to the rhythm of reconciliation, like a song for the New South.
Presenter #5: William Boyce, Religious Studies
Ethnography Encountered: Roman Identity and the Complications of Ethnography in Caesar's Gallic War
Key Words: Caesar, ethnography, ancient Europe
Abstract: In his De bello Gallico, Julius Caesar offers some interesting glimpses at the culture and society of various northern European ethnic groups, primarily the Britons, Gauls, and Germans. Scholars have been analyzing Caesar's ethnographic accounts for well over a century, but what has yet to be examined is the intriguing balancing act in which Caesar must engage with his respective portrayals of northern European tribes and what these portrayals imply about Roman cultural identity. In the Gallic War, Caesar's foes must seem weak and primitive enough so as to be obviously inferior to the Romans, but also sufficiently strong and fierce enough to be thought worthy opponents. Perhaps most interesting among Caesar's descriptions is that of the Gauls who resided nearest to Roman territory, to whom Caesar attributes effeminacy, cowardice, drunkenness, and indolence owing to their contact with Roman merchants. In the same vein, those tribes who are manly, brave, abstemious, and industrious are considered to be so largely because they shun contact with the trappings of the 'civilized' society of the Romans. Thus, Caesar's account provides a potentially troubling paradigm-if the martial prowess of the barbarians stems from the degree to which they are removed from civilization, what implications does this bear for the Romans, the source of that civilization? This paper addresses that gap, and asserts that Caesar's attempt to construct a traditional ethnography results in a sobering examination of the growing similarities between the Romans and their barbarian neighbors.
Presenter #6: Tyler Creer, History
Session CM: House of Cards: Political Systems and Incentives, Conference Room 389
9:30-11:30 am, Conference Room 389
How Local Information about Economic Mobility Shapes Public Opinion
Key Words: public opinion, experiments, politics
Abstract: I develop a theory of localized political communication: when individuals are provided with geographically proximate information about economic mobility, they become more supportive of opportunity-increasing redistributive policies, conditional on their own relative economic security. I conduct a nationally representative survey experiment using estimates of economic mobility from Chetty et al (2014). I randomly assign respondents to receive no information, information about average mobility across the US, or both national and local mobility estimates. Both treatments change attitudes toward a range of opportunity-increasing redistributive policies but local economic context moderates observed effects: those in high mobility areas who receive the national treatment become less supportive of government intervention, while those in high mobility areas who receive the national and local treatment become more supportive of intervention. I argue that the salience of economic insecurity helps explain these counterintuitive findings: when individuals perceive local areas to be more economically secure than the rest of the country, they are willing to support costly government interventions. But when individuals are only provided with national-level information, they perceive their own economic status as less secure and thus become more likely to oppose policy change.
Presenter #1: Adam Hughes, Politics
Policy, Partisanship and Poverty in Brazil
Key Words: development policy, poverty, elections, Brazil
Abstract: How and in what ways do policies designed to alleviate poverty affect political outcomes in developing countries? Using original survey data gathered in Brazil, I analyze the degree to which receipt of the nation's internationally renowned poverty alleviation program, the Bolsa Família Program, affects reported partisan sympathies and subsequently, the voting behavior of respondents. I find that program beneficiaries are significantly more likely to sympathize with the incumbent political party than similar individuals who do not receive benefits from such programs. However, this outcome only holds if beneficiaries also attribute responsibility for program provision to the incumbent party. This behavior suggests that social policy can play a complex and interesting role in the development of democratic institutions. Specifically, it strengthens the connection between political parties and underrepresented citizens. This linkage is, in turn, an essential component for the strengthening and solidification of sound democratic institutions in middle-income countries. In sum, this project deepens our understanding of ways in which developing democracies consolidate their political institutions, and the role that policy plays in that process.
Presenter #2: Elizabeth Kaknes, Politics
Delegation or Unilateral Action?
Key Words: presidency, american politics, bureaucracy
Abstract: Studies of unilateral action typically conceive of presidential directives as movement of an existing status quo in public policy. Yet, bureaucratic cooperation is often necessary if presidential action is to be truly "unilateral." In this vein, I argue that such directives can be more fruitfully studied as instances of delegation. I develop a theory of delegation within the executive branch, modeling the conditions under which the president is likely to delegate to administrative subordinates outside the Executive Office. I test this theory by analyzing executive orders for content containing authority delegated to subordinates. I show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm of presidential studies, the president's power to act alone is constrained by the risks associated with bureaucratic drift.
Presenter #3: Kenneth Lowande, Politics
Insubordinate Subordinates: Paramilitaries and Civil War Duration
Key Words: paramilitaries, civil war, insurgency
Abstract: Civil wars exact a devastating toll on the societies in which they occur. Across these internal conflicts, however, there is significant variation in how long particular civil wars last. While a burgeoning literature examines the determinants of civil war duration, previous studies have failed to account for the ways in which paramilitaries -- i.e. informal armed groups that fight alongside incumbent forces -- may affect the prospects for conflict termination. Our project fills this void by theorizing the various ways in which paramilitary organizations might prolong civil wars. In particular, we posit three primary mechanisms that link the presence of paramilitaries to longer internal conflicts, focusing on civilian victimization, principal-agent problems between the formal armed forces and the paramilitaries, and conflict-based incentives to keep fighting. We test our theoretical framework using newly compiled data on paramilitaries in all asymmetric irregular civil wars between 1945 and 1999. Our results conclusively show that paramilitaries significantly increase the duration of civil wars. These results are robust to a number of different specifications. The findings presented in this paper should be of great interest to both scholars and practitioners alike.
Presenter #4: Michael Poznansky, Politics
Ideals or Opportunity? An Economic Model of Party Formation in Parliamentary Democracies
Key Words: party switching, coalition theory
Abstract: I develop a model of party formation in parliamentary democracies. The model aims at understanding the motivations of politicians when switching their parties, which is common in many countries. I model a party as a team in which a group of politicians negotiate on how to split the rents from their future electoral success. The model presents heterogeneity in two dimensions. First, the politicians have different exogenous private resources that determine their parties' electoral success. Second, the politicians are heterogeneous in their ideal points on the left-to-right political spectrum, and they derive non-pecuniary benefits from being in a party that is a good ideological match. I suggest two explanations for party switching. First, a politician may behave ideologically by switching to a party that matches better with his or her ideology. Second, a politician may behave opportunistically by switching to a party that does not match well with his or her party, but is electorally more successful. I will empirically test the relevance of these explanations with a data set that I construct on Turkish politicians who were elected between 1995-2014. The structural estimation of the model parameters will allow me to conduct policy experiments of (1) increasing the within-party ideological discipline, (2) imposing term limits, and (3) increasing the party-switching cost.
Presenter #5: Selcen Cakir, Economics
Why Caucuses? Faction Brands in American Politics
Key Words: American Politics, Congress, Survey Experiments, Representation
Abstract: Why do politicians join organized party factions? Through a mixture of survey experiments and observational analyses, I find that members of Congress can credibly convey heterodox policy positions by constructing and cultivating sub-party organizations. Observational analysis of faction membership patterns suggests that legislators are likely to engage in this behavior when their party reputation is a tough sell in their home district. Following a Bayesian, decision-theoretic model of voter learning, this paper engages in two distinct empirical analyses. First, I perform survey experiments on a large, nationally representative sample of adult Americans. By manipulating the assignment of key political information, I am able to estimate the causal effect of association with a Democratic Party faction. Specifically, random assignment of membership in the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition allows for the estimation of faction brand effects without confounding differences in policy positions, personal characteristics, and previous exposure to candidate information. Second, I analyze fifteen years of election statistics, party faction membership data, and district-level demographics to confirm my survey results. I find that members that both [1] represent districts with heterodox policy preferences and [2] face stiff electoral competition are most likely to join congressional factions. Both sets of empirical tests confirm my theory of factions as secondary heuristics. These findings have important implications for normative theories of congressional representation, empirical models of institutional development, and common practices in American electioneering.
Presenter #6: Andrew Clarke, Politics
Compelling Targets: Democratic Regimes and Responses to Compellent Threats
Key Words: democracy, coercion, bargaining
Abstract: Do democratic targets have an advantage in coercive diplomacy? While recent research has reinvigorated interest in studies of compellence, little attention has been paid to the targets of these threats, a shortcoming this project addresses, examining how democracies and non-democracies respond to compellent threats. In particular, this project argues that democracies have a distinct disadvantage when facing compellent threats, using deductive logic to identify four potential mechanisms that could drive this behavior: democracies, with heavier constraints on the executive, are less capable of responding in time, forcing concessions; democratic publics are unwilling to fight over certain issues, forcing the regime to avoid these unpopular conflict; the democratic target is constrained for normative reasons in how it may or may not respond, especially with force; and democracies are more capable of properly evaluating the likelihood of success in a conflict, selecting themselves out rather of fights they are likely to lose.
Presenter #7: Matt Scroggs, Politics
Executive Influence On State Supreme Courts: Strategic Deference in Anticipation of Reappointment
Key Words: Governors, Courts, Politics, Influence, Separation-of-Powers
Abstract: Many state supreme court justices are accountable to some retention process. I analyze how the specific system of reappointment by governors creates a system of strong principal control over judicial agents. With the monitoring capacity that comes through professional executive staffs, and the enforcement capacity inherent in the reappointment power, governors with reappointment power are well positioned to tightly monitor and influence their state supreme court justices. Using criminal law cases in all such states for the years 1995-2010 and an original dataset of justice retention-eligibility status, I show that retention-eligible justices are deferential to their governors, while retention-ineligible justices are not. These effects are robust to a variety of empirical testing strategies and exist both at the vote and case-decision level. Further tests show that justices shift their voting behavior when the party in the governor's mansion changes and that these effects are not found in similar states where the governor does not have the reappointment power. These findings raise significant questions about judicial independence in the states and the role of ideology and politics in the state criminal justice system.
Presenter #8: Thomas Gray, Politics
Physical Sciences and Math Slide Presentations
9:30-11:30 am, Board Room 376
Searching for Obscured AGN and Interstellar Shocks in Luminous Infrared Galaxies
Key Words: Spectroscopy, Starbursts, Interacting Galaxies
Abstract: We present preliminary results from a medium resolution (R ~ 3000) near-infrared spectroscopic survey of Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGS; LIR > 10^11 Lsun) in the local universe ( 0.003 < z < 0.08). These galaxies are observed to be mostly major mergers of gas-rich galaxies which are powered by star formation or active galactic nuclei (AGN). To date our full sample contains 50 LIRGs drawn from the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey (GOALS, Armus et al., 2009) and covers the full range of luminosity within GOALS (10^11 Lsun < LIR < 10^12.4 Lsun). In this summary we present line strengths and widths from a subset of the LIRGS in our sample. We search for optically obscured AGN and estimate nuclear star formation rates. Finally, we make use of the models of Hollenbach, Chernoff, and McKee (1989) to distinguish shock-induced line emission from pure H II region emission.
Presenter #1: Jake Borish, Astronomy
Broadening our Horizons on Short-Period Stellar and Substellar Companions with the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
Key Words: Stellar Populations, Exoplanets, Brown Dwarfs
Abstract: In its three years of operation, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-1) observed over 8000 stars which have enough (at least 7) unique, quality radial velocity measurements over a sufficient baseline to fit Keplerian orbits. Using an automated Keplerian orbit fitting pipeline, we have built a catalog of orbital parameters of nearly 4000 objects observed by APOGEE with statistically significant RV variations. While many multiplicity and exoplanet surveys have focused on solar-like stars and the solar neighborhood, our sample contains approximately 1500 evolved stars (log g <3.8), as well as stars across the disk and into the halo. With a radial velocity precision of around 100 m/s, APOGEE can probe systems with close-in companions down to a few Jupiter-masses. Using this unique catalog we explore the fate of stellar and substellar companions as their host star evolves off the main sequence, and answer questions about the formation mechanisms of brown dwarf companions. In addition, our large statistical sample is well suited to comb the elusive brown-dwarf desert. Furthermore, stellar parameters and chemical abundances will be available for many of the primary stars in our sample, allowing us to further probe the connection between a host star's chemical abundances and the presence (or destruction) of companions. Finally, we present some of our most interesting systems with detected companions, as well as initial follow-up observations for a subset of these systems.
Presenter #2: Nicholas Troup, Astronomy
High precision modeling of pulsar binaries using long-term millisecond pulsar timing.
Key Words: Pulsars, Binaries, Globular clusters
Abstract: Since the discovery of pulsars in 1967, pulsar science has become an incredibly precise field of astronomy. Pulsars are a type of neutron star where the magnetic axis and the rotational axis of the star are misaligned, causing the magnetic poles to sweep along the earth's line of sight. Every time the pole crosses our line of sight we see extra light from the pulsar in a manner reminiscent of light houses on earth. For a majority of pulsars it takes a few seconds for this radio beam to sweep across the sky but a subset of pulsars in binary systems can rotate almost a thousand times faster than their slower brethren. The exact mechanism that takes a slow pulsar and recycles it into a millisecond pulsar has been theorized but we're only beginning to see the last stages of this process in globular clusters. In these final stages of evolution eclipses of the pulsar and changes in the orbital period are evident but not well understood. By looking at the deviations from an accurate prediction of arrival times for each pulse, I have started to create models that explain these phenomenon and how they tie into a comprehensive theory of how slow pulsars turn into millisecond pulsars.
Presenter #3: Brian Prager, Astronomy
Azimuthal Metallicity Structure in the Milky Way
Key Words: Milky Way, Radio Astronomy, Galactic Structure
Abstract: The Green Bank Telescope H II Region Discovery Survey (GBT HRDS) found hundreds of previously unknown Galactic regions of massive star formation (H II regions) by detecting hydrogen radio recombination line (RRL) emission and radio continuum emission from candidate H II region targets. H II Regions probe the current spiral and chemical structure of the galaxy. By combining the HRDS discoveries with all previously known H II Regions, we have the most complete view of the structure of the Milky Way ever obtained. Using radio astronomy, we can measure the chemical abundances of these star forming regions and place constraints on the chemical structure of the Galaxy. The analysis of this large sample reveals the expected radial metallicity gradient but also hints at azimuthal structure in the metallicity distribution. Azimuthal metallicity structure is unexpected in the Milky Way according to current models of its formation and evolution. I will discuss the work leading up to this discovery, possible explanations, and new work which will allow us to better constrain the azimuthal metallicity structure which will inform Milky Way formation and evolution models.
Presenter #4: Trey Wenger, Astronomy
The robustness of using near-UV observations to detect and study exoplanet magnetic fields
Key Words: exoplanets, magnetic fields,
Abstract: Detecting and studying the magnetic fields of exoplanets will allow for the investigation of their interior structure, rotation period, atmospheric retention, moons, and habitability. In this study we simulate the plasma, chemistry, radiation transport, and dynamics of the plasma characteristics in the vicinity of the exoplanet using the code CLOUDY. We previously observed the transits of 18 exoplanets as they crossed the face of their host-star in the near-UV in an attempt to detect their magnetic fields. It was postulated that the magnetic fields of all our targets could be constrained if their near-UV light curves start earlier than in their optical light curves. We do not observe an early ingress in any of our targets, but determine upper limits on their magnetic field strengths. All our magnetic field upper limits are well below the predicted magnetic field strengths for hot Jupiters. The upper limits we derived assume that there is an absorbing species in the near-UV. Therefore, our upper limits cannot be trusted if there is no species to cause the absorption. Using CLOUDY we have investigated whether there is an absorption species in the near-UV that can exist to cause an observable early ingress. We find that there isn't a species in the near-UV that can cause an absorption under the conditions of a transiting hot Jupiter. Therefore, our upper limits can not be trusted. We can still use our data to constrain the atmospheric prosperities of the exoplanets.
Presenter #5: Jake Turner, Astronomy
Stellar Nurseries in IC10, a Local Dwarf Starburst
Key Words: star formation, interstellar medium, Local Group galaxies
Abstract: Astronomy research is driven by the question of origins. From this stems the question of how the first stars formed. Understanding star formation, especially the first stars, will create the platform to understanding how our universe evolved into what we observe today. Though we cannot just observe the first stars since they are faint sources in the distant universe, we can observe local analogs of the first galaxies. IC 10 is an example of a local analog to early-universe star formation. IC 10 is a nearby dwarf galaxy of low metallicity, high gas content, and an extremely elevated star formation rate compared to the Milky Way. These properties make IC 10 a key galaxy in which to study this extreme mode of star formation. I am utilizing galaxy-wide maps of carbon monoxide (CO), which traces the diffuse molecular gas of the molecular clouds, the sites of star formation, in IC 10. These data were taken at the French Insitut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique (IRAM) 30-m single dish radio telescope in Spain. With these maps of multiple CO transitions, I calculate line ratios to determine the temperature, pressure, and optical depth of the molecular clouds.
Presenter #6: Lauren Bittle, Astronomy
Physical Sciences and Math Slide Presentations
9:30-11:30 am, Conference Room 481
Investigation into the Synthesis of Small Indoline Compounds for Biological Screening
Key Words: Drug design, chemistry, Organic, Inorganic
Abstract: Drugs derived from natural products are usually some of the most successful. These compounds have some of the most complex chemical structures that can be imagined, making them extremely difficult, and expensive, to make. The majority arise from small organic cores, such as aromatics, which are extremely stable. These are so stable that they frequently can't be used as starting materials because they are inert to traditional chemical reactions. Using a {TpW(NO)(PMe3)} metal fragment, these aromatics can be dearomatized, allowing for them to be used as starting materials. One of these aromatics, indoline, has been successfully derivatized to produce complex small molecules. These small organic compounds have a high probability of being biologically active. Similar natural compounds include Stemona alkaloids, a class of compounds which range in reactivity from neurotransmitters to nicotinic agonists. It is the goal of this project to synthesize a range of these small molecules with various stereo- and regioselective additions which can be sent for biological testing. Background on this issue and current investigative work will be discussed.
Presenter #1: Brianna MacLeod, Chemistry
Missing gluons of the Qurak Soup
Key Words: QGP, Heavy Ion Collisions, RHIC, LHC
Abstract: For the first few miliseconds after the big bang, the Universe was in a state called the Quark Soup (or a quark gluon plasma), an extremely hot mixture of quarks and gluons which are the elementary constituents of neutrons and protons. But in experiments done on the QGP at particle colliders like LHC and RHIC, a suppression of emitted gluons was observed. It turned out that it was due to a Quantum Mechanical effect called the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect. But this effect was only understood in a very limited number of situations i.e only for single gluon emissions. In my research, we have generalized this effect to the case of multiple emissions and for the full range of emission energies.
Presenter #2: Shahin Iqbal, Physics
Systematic Perturbations of Micelle Properties to Investigate the Stabilization of Membrane Protein Structure and Function
Key Words: detergents, micelles, OMPLA
Abstract: Membrane protein research is hampered by the difficulty in selecting a membrane mimic that solubilizes and stabilizes protein fold and function. While detergents are often utilized, identifying the appropriate detergent composition to maintain protein solubilization and stability is an expensive, time-consuming, empirical process that is often unsuccessful. The goal of this research is to understand the interactions between detergent and protein by relating physical surfactant properties with membrane protein fold, function, and stability, enabling rational detergent selection. To determine important micelle and protein characteristics, outer membrane phospholipase A1 (OMPLA), the protease OmpT, and the lipid A palmitoyltransferase PagP were purified in different detergent micelles with varying properties such as alkyl chain length, charge, and head group. The overall protein structure and function were evaluated in many pure micelles to identify trends with detergent characteristics and protein function. Upon determination of kinetic parameters for several β-barrel proteins in pure micelles, protein function and structure will be investigated with mixed micelles, to test hypotheses generated by the trends observed in pure micelles. This research will provide a logical rationale for the selection of detergents based on the physical properties of membrane proteins and detergents.
Presenter #3: Ashton Brock, Chemistry
3-D Simulation of Boreal Forests: Landscape Micro-Refugia from Changing Climate and Disturbance Regimes
Key Words: model, boreal, Siberia, forest dynamics, 3-D landscape
Abstract: We introduce a new, spatially-explicit vegetation model SIBBORK for simulation of the SIBerian BOReal forest in 3-dimensions on real terrain. This model was developed for the purpose of investigating ecosystem changes in response to abrupt disturbances, including wildfires, and gradual perturbations, such as warming associated with climate change. Greater warming has been observed in central Siberia than in any other biome, making the Siberian boreal forest an important early warning ecosystem for understanding how climate change may affect global forests. SIBBORK is specifically tailored for the simulation of boreal ecosystems, including representations of permafrost and a complex light regime. A unique feature of SIBBORK is the fine-scale resolution of current and potential future environmental conditions within the 3-D spatial domain of the simulation. The differential distributions of species and disturbances across the landscape are strongly linked with topographic, climatic, and edaphic gradients. Modifications to site conditions are likely to propagate changes in species composition and productivity at that location. Therefore, explicitly resolving landscape heterogeneity facilitates a more realistic prediction of forest composition, and furthers our understanding of how the boreal ecosystem may change in response to altered ambient conditions. SIBBORK additionally enables the identification of smaller scale niches as potential refugia for species in areas where the coarse-scale ambient conditions are forecast to become less favorable over the next century. The ability to accurately predict current and future forest structure and dynamics provides insight into vegetation responses to changing environmental conditions and disturbance regimes at different spatial and temporal scales.
Presenter #4: Ksenia Brazhnik, Environmental Sciences
Precise Monte Carlo Simulations foir Rare Decays of Subatomic Particles
Key Words: pion decay, Standard Model, electro-weak
Abstract: The Standard Model (SM) of elementary particles and interactions is a fully self-consistant theory, developed over the last fifty years, describing the behavior and interactions of all matter in the universe. In spite of that, we know that the SM is incomplete. PEN, an international collaboration of US and Europe institutions led by UVa, undertook to measure with high precision the rate of decay of the lightest meson, a pion, a particle comprised of a quark anti-quark pair, into a positron and neutrino at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland. The detector system, included beam tracking, an active target to stop the pion, decay particle tracking, and a full energy calorimeter detector. Due to the nature of the weak interaction governing this decay, its rate is highly sensitive to non-SM physics. A precise determination of the decay rate places limits on the energy scale of possible new particles and interactions. The GEANT 4 Monte Carlo simulation is integral to the analysis as it used to generate fully realistic events for all pion and muon decay channels. The simulated events are constructed so that they are indistinguishable from real measurements. The highly realistic Monte Carlo synthetic events provide the essential basis to evaluate deviations from the Standard Model predictions. Details of the Monte Carlo simulation will be discussed.
Presenter #5: Charlie Glaser, Physics
The landscapes of Titan tell the story of its climatic evolution
Key Words: Titan, planetary science, atmospheres, fluvial processes, erosion
Abstract: The climatic history of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and the only body other than Earth to have liquid on its surface, remains enigmatic. Have Titan's methane seas existed since the early solar system or has the proportion of Titan affected by fluvial processes been steadily decreasing? Here we analyze global image data (primarily synthetic aperture radar) to map fluvial features and rank various scenarios of climate evolution. We use traditional geologic and geomorphic mapping techniques to establish stratigraphic relationships and interpret local, regional, and global fluvial modification processes. We favor a progressive hypothesis of climatic evolution: during a brief period precipitation affected Titan's geomorphology globally, and has subsequently been undergoing gradual decline and increasing poleward restriction.
Presenter #6: Alexander Morgan, Environmental Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Slide Presentations
9:30-11:30 am, Conference Room 367
The rules of implicit evaluation by race, religion and age.
Key Words: social psychology, race, religion, age, attitudes
Abstract: The social world is stratified. Social hierarchies are known but often disavowed as anachronisms or unjust. Nonetheless, hierarchies may persist in social memory. In three studies (total N > 200,000), we used a measure of implicit, non-conscious associations and found evidence of consistent social hierarchies in implicit evaluation in race, religion, and age. Participants implicitly evaluated their own racial group most positively and the remaining racial groups in accordance with the following hierarchy: Whites > Asians > Blacks > Hispanics. Similarly, participants implicitly evaluated their own religion most positively and the remaining religions in accordance with the following hierarchy: Christianity > Judaism > Hinduism or Buddhism > Islam. In a final study, participants of all ages implicitly evaluated age groups following this rule: children > young adults > middle-age adults > older adults. However, explicit, conscious evaluations of the same racial, religious and age groups did not follow consistent hierarchies. These results suggest that the rules of social evaluation are pervasively embedded in culture and mind.
Presenter #1: Jordan Axt, Psychology
The Effects of High School Career and Technical Education for Non-College Bound Students
Key Words: Statistics, Education, Estimation, Economics
Abstract: This research project creates a dynamic structural model of individual choice regarding high school curriculum and early labor market opportunities. It then discusses how this model can be estimated to investigate the returns to education from different types of U.S. high school curricula, particularly for non-college bound students, using panel data on students' high school course selection and labor market outcomes from the educational longitudinal studies conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NLS-72, HS&B, NELS:88, and ELS:2002). Next it discusses the benefits of this approach, such as various policy simulations and the incorporation of yearly panel data. Finally, it discusses the instruments used to control for self-selection (the high school vocational programs available at each student's high school as instruments for their choice of high school curriculum), the simulated maximum likelihood estimation approach, and next steps to complete the research.
Presenter #2: Michael LaForest, Economics
Racial Bias in Pain Assessment and Treatment: The Influence of Magical Beliefs About the Black Body
Key Words: racial bias, pain perception, healthcare disparities
Abstract: Blacks are systematically undertreated for pain relative to Whites. We examine whether racial bias in pain perception might be related to magical beliefs about the Black body. Medical students/residents read mock-medical cases about a Black and White patient, and provided pain and treatment ratings for each patient. They also completed a measure of magical beliefs about the Black body (e.g., "Black people's blood coagulates more quickly"). A nontrivial proportion of participants (65%) endorsed magical beliefs about the Black body. Moreover, among White participants, endorsement of magical beliefs was associated with racial bias in pain ratings and treatment. Participants who more-highly endorsed magical beliefs rated the Black (vs. White) patient's pain as lower. Participants who endorsed fewer magical beliefs rated the Black (vs. White) patient's pain as higher. Racial bias in pain perception was also related to racial bias in recommending appropriate medication. These findings suggest that even "experts" hold and use magical beliefs about the Black body to inform professional judgments, which may be one contributing factor to racial bias in pain assessment and treatment. Future work should investigate whether this bias may also explain why police officers seem to use more-and often lethal-force with Black individuals.
Presenter #3: Kelly Hoffman, Psychology
Social Media and Investor Sentiment in the Stock Market
Key Words: Sentiment, Twitter, Information Dissemination
Abstract: I use the comments made by stock market investors on Twitter to create a daily measure of investor sentiment. The main advantage of the proposed index over existing measures is the possibility of gauging the investor sentiment directly with higher frequency. This new sentiment index provides the necessary tool to analyze the effect of major policy announcements and economic news on the expectation of investors. After the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve initiated several programs to become more transparent about its policy and communicate effectively with market participants. In order to measure the effectiveness of these programs, I collect real-time Twitter data, quantify the qualitative information, and compare the dispersion of opinions before and after the scheduled policy announcements. According to the recent data, the dispersion of opinions decreased after the release of Fed statements. The initial results indicate that the initiatives have been successful in providing clarity on future Fed policy. In my research, I use the sentiment index to answer a number of questions in the area of macroeconomics and finance but the methodology of retrieving information from social media networks can be applied to social and behavioral studies in other fields.
Presenter #4: Vahid Gholampour, Economics
Residential Mobility Heightens Sensitivity to Acceptance Cues: Behavioral and Neural Evidence
Key Words: Residential mobility, social perception, belonging
Abstract: Residential mobility is a difficult, but omnipresent facet of modern life that produces an immense amount of psychological and behavioral consequences, ranging from lowered subjective well-being, increased anxiety and stress, heightened preference for familiar items, and most recently, loneliness. However, empirical work exploring how residential mobility may impact social perception remains impoverished. The extant literature in loneliness and social exclusion has demonstrated conclusively that humans have a fundamental need to belong, and that when this need is threatened, people display heightened sensitivity to social cues-specifically acceptance cues, such as happy faces. In the present work, we hypothesized that participants primed to be in a mobile mindset would demonstrate motivated social perception, but only toward acceptance cues (happy faces) and not for other types of social cues. Supporting our predictions, mobile participants showed more favorable explicit liking of happy faces relative to stable participants (Study 1), as well as demonstrated more rapid N170 peak latencies to happy faces, but not for other types of faces (e.g., angry, or sad; Study 2). Taken together, our results illustrate that a mobile mindset modulates basic visual perception toward cues of acceptance.
Presenter #5: Brandon Ng, Psychology
GameMaps: Using Big Data to Understand Enjoyment
Key Words: big data, modeling, time series, Twitter, basketball
Abstract: Psychologists have long been interested in measuring and predicting how people evaluate the episodes of their lives. One of the few theories to attempt this is Kahneman's peak-end rule, which suggests that people base their evaluations on two factors: (a) the intensity of its emotional or sensory peak and (b) the upward or downward trend of this intensity at the end of the episode (Kahneman et al., 1993). While this rule has proven to work well for simple events, it often fails to predict evaluations of complex episodes. "Big data" offers a novel approach for modeling evaluations of these complex episodes. Specifically, I have been investigating NBA basketball games, which offer rich, structured episodes to which fans respond by posting to Twitter. To this end, I have collected: (a) game statistics for the entire 2013-2014 NBA season and (b) Twitter data for these games. By combining these two data sources, I have begun exploring which features of games dictate people's enjoyment in terms of engagement. I will describe a variety of techniques-including cluster analysis, temporal causal modeling, and sentiment analysis-that I have used to evaluate how different types of games or features of games predict tweeting by fans. Ultimately, I hope to show that "big data" offers a unique way to model how people evaluate the episodes of their lives. I also present recommendations for best practices when applying "big data" methods to social science research.
Presenter #6: David Dobolyi, Psychology
The Association Between Numeric Magnitude and Auditory Pitch.
Key Words: Crossmodal Perception, Numerical Cognition, Auditory Perception.
Abstract: Crossmodal associations are systematic associations between stimuli presented in two separate modalities (i.e., vision and audition). For example, different pitches are associated with different spatial locations. Additionally, numbers show a similar relationship between numeric magnitude and location. In the present research, we tested the possibility that pitch and numerical value are crossmodally associated, so that the simultaneous presentation of one of these stimuli can disrupt or facilitate the processing of the other. In our experiment, participants saw two randomly selected single-digit numbers, presented sequentially, while hearing a different pitch accompanying each number. When the change in pitch matched the change in numeric magnitude (i.e., the second number was larger and the second pitch was higher), that trial was said to be congruent; we predicted that participants would be faster to respond to these congruent trials. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found evidence of a crossmodal association between numerical magnitude and pitch: participants responded faster to congruent trials compared to incongruent. This finding supports the idea that common cognitive resources underlie the processing of both numerical magnitude and auditory pitch.
Presenter #7: Steven Scheid, Psychology
Afternoon Sessions
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Slide Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, South Meeting Room
Distance Measurement on the Membrane Transporter BtuB in whole E. coli Cells and Intact Outer Membranes Using EPR Spectroscopy
Key Words: EPR, Membrane Proteins, Whole Cell
Abstract: Outer-membrane TonB-dependent transporters function in the uptake of essential nutrients, and are important for the success of many pathogenic bacteria These proteins consist of a 22 stranded β-barrel where the N-terminal 130 to 150 residues form a core domain that fills the barrel. During transport, these proteins undergo a cycle of binding and unbinding to the inner membrane protein TonB, through an interaction that is mediated by the Ton box, an energy-coupling segment near the transporter N-terminus. Over 50 high-resolution crystal structures have been obtained for 12 different TonB-dependent transporters, however the mechanisms of substrate transport remain unclear. Determination of membrane protein structure or dynamics with high resolution in whole cells is an attractive way to solve transport mechanisms but yet to be demonstrated. In this work, the cobalamin transporter BtuB was overexpressed and spin labelled in whole cells and outer membranes and interspin distances were measured to a spin labelled cobalamin using pulse EPR. A comparative analysis of the data reveals a similar interspin distance distribution between whole cells, outer membranes and synthetic vesicles. This approach provides an elegant way to study conformational changes or protein-protein/ligand interactions for large outer membrane protein complexes in whole cells and native membranes, and provides a method to validate high-resolution structures of membrane proteins in their native environment.
Presenter #1: Arthur Sikora, Chemistry
Transient Depletion of Regulatory T Cells Leads to Th2-Mediated Murine Autoimmune Gastritis
Key Words: Regulatory T cells, Autoimmune Gastritis, Immune Tolerance
Abstract: "Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) is an autoimmune disease of the stomach that predisposes to pernicious anemia and gastric cancer. In mice and humans, AIG appears to be primarily Th1-mediated; however, Th2 cells and eosinophils are documented in the gastric mucosa of AIG patients. In this study, we address the contribution of Th2 immune responses to AIG pathogenesis and the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in maintaining self-tolerance to gastric autoantigens. AIG occurred in DEREG mice, which express a diphtheria toxin (DT) receptor transgene under the foxp3 promoter, following specific and transient Treg depletion by DT injection. AIG persisted despite the rapid return of functional Tregs due to development of effector T cell resistance to Treg-mediated suppression. AIG in Treg-depleted mice was characterized by gastric hypertrophy and parietal cell loss. Additionally, we observed dominant eosinophil infiltration and mucinous epithelial cell metaplasia. The following observations support a Th2-biased mechanism of AIG in Treg-depleted mice: 1) IgG1-dominant autoantibodies to gastric parietal cells and H+K+ATPase, 2) elevated serum IgE levels, 3) elevated Th2 cytokine production by gastric lymph node T cells, and 4) reduction of AIG in IL-4-deficient mice and eosinophil-deficient mice. Our study provides direct evidence that Tregs maintain physiological tolerance to gastric autoantigens and that the emergence of effector T cell resistance to suppression is critical for AIG development. The Th2-dominant autoimmune response with eosinophil-dominant gastritis was unexpected, but similar findings have been reported in some patients with AIG and provide a better understanding of the complete mechanism of autoimmune disease pathogenesis.
Presenter #2: Jessica Harakal, Biomedical Sciences
Attacking pancreatic cancer from a different angle
Key Words: pancreatic cancer, targeted therapy, microenvironment, liposome
Abstract: Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly of cancers. For the past forty years, more than 93 percent of patients have died within five years of diagnosis. But recent advances in understanding the supporting microenvironment have opened new doors for developing treatments. Current standard-of-care therapy is focused on killing the classical tumor cells, ignoring these support cells-extracellular matrix, immune cells, blood vessel cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)-that not only make up 80% of the tumor bulk, but are now known to promote tumor progression, metastasis, and even drug resistance. The CAFs, in particular, seem to be orchestrating the tumor-promoting aspects of these support cells. Here, I present a means of upsetting the support system of the tumor by targeting the CAFs. Although CAFs originate from normal, healthy cells, they start to express different receptors on their surface in their cancerous form. I isolated hundreds of potential proteins that bind to CAF receptors and compared binding protein profiles across many cell types in order to identify proteins that bind only the CAFs. I validated two of the most promising proteins both on cells and in mice with subcutaneous pancreatic tumors. I then attached one of these proteins to the surface of a drug-carrying liposome and demonstrated the ability of the protein to direct the liposome to the CAFs of a subcutaneous pancreatic tumor in a mouse. These liposomes can be filled with different drugs to thwart tumor-promoting activities of CAFs.
Presenter #3: Lindsey Brinton, Biomedical Sciences
The Roles of Perineurial Glia and their Precursors in Motor Axon Pathfinding & Neural Crest Streaming
Key Words: development, perineurial glia, axon pathfinding, neural crest
Abstract: The vertebrate nervous system is composed of the central nervous system (CNS), consisting of the brain and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which includes the nerves outside of the CNS. The PNS serves as a communication relay between the CNS and peripheral organs. Although both nervous systems consist of neurons and glial cells, they differ in many aspects including the types of glial cells and supporting tissues. The boundary between these two compartments, known as the CNS-PNS transition zone (TZ), serves as a barrier, maintaining a relatively strict separation of two systems. During nervous system assembly, motor neurons (MN) extend axons out of the spinal cord to their targets in the periphery through specific points along TZs known as motor exit points (MEP). This process is accompanied with the development of distinct types of glial cells. In previous studies, we found perineurial glia, which is a type of PNS glial cells forming the perineurium out of the nerves, derive in the CNS and cross the TZ through MEPs during development. Utilizing zebrafish as a model, taking the advantage of its in vivo imaging capabilities, we achieve a dynamic understanding of how motor neurons and glial cells behave and interact with each other in their native environments during nervous system assembly. These studies reveal a novel role of perineurial glia in axon pathfinding and neural crest streaming.
Presenter #4: Yunlu Zhu, Biology
The Contribution of Rare and Common Variants in 30 Genes to Risk Nicotine Dependence
Key Words: Nicotine dependence, human genetics, rare variants
Abstract: Genetic and functional studies have revealed that both common and rare variants of several nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits are associated with nicotine dependence (ND). In this study, we identified variants in 30 candidate genes including nicotinic receptors in 200 sib pairs selected from the Mid-South Tobacco Family (MSTF) population with equal numbers of African Americans (AAs) and European Americans (EAs). We selected 135 of the rare and common variants and genotyped them in the Mid-South Tobacco Case-Control (MSTCC) population, which consists of 3088 AAs and 1430 EAs. None of the genotyped common variants showed significant association with smoking status (smokers vs. non-smokers), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scores, or indexed cigarettes per day (CPD) after Bonferroni correction. Rare variants in NRXN1, CHRNA9, CHRNA2, NTRK2, GABBR2, GRIN3A, DNM1, NRXN2, NRXN3, and ARRB2 were significantly associated with smoking status in the MSTCC AA sample, with Weighted Sum Statistic (WSS) P values ranging from 2.42 × 10-3 to 1.31 × 10-4 after 106 phenotype rearrangements. We also observed a significant excess of rare nonsynonymous variants exclusive to EA smokers in NRXN1, CHRNA9, TAS2R38, GRIN3A, DBH, ANKK1/DRD2, NRXN3, and CDH13 with WSS P values between 3.5 × 10-5 and 1 × 10-6. Variants rs142807401 (A432T) and rs139982841 (A452V) in CHRNA9 and variants V132L, V389L, rs34755188 (R480H), and rs75981117 (N549S) in GRIN3A are of particular interest because they are found in both the AA and EA samples. A significant aggregate contribution of rare and common coding variants in CHRNA9 to the risk for ND (SKAT-C P = 0.0012) was detected by applying the combined sum test in MSTCC EAs. Together, our results indicate that rare variants alone or combined with common variants in a subset of 30 biological candidate genes contribute substantially to the risk of ND.
Presenter #5: Jackie Yang, Biomedical Sciences
Mechanisms of Collective Cell Migration
Key Words: collective migration, development, morphogenesis
Abstract: Collective cell migration is necessary for morphogenesis and diseases progression. Cells undergo collective cell migration during wound healing, regeneration, embryonic development, and cancer metastasis. Most cell migration studies have been done on single cells in culture. However, in vivo many cells migrate as groups maintaining contacts with neighboring cells. Often these contacts are required for directional migration. My goal is to understand how cell-cell contacts influence cell polarity to result in directed collective cell migration. A recent finding in our lab demonstrates that application of mechanical force to cell-cell adhesions is sufficient to recruit a network of keratin intermediate filaments to cadherin adhesions and orient protrusions to direct migration. I seek to further understand this biomechanical mechanism by investigating the role of PDGF signaling in this process. Overall this study will increase our understanding of how cell behaviors are coordinated to produce collective movements.
Presenter #6: Crystal Richardson, Biomedical Sciences
Fireflies and light pollution
Key Words: light pollution, animal communication, conservation
Abstract: Light pollution is an emerging ecological threat. As continued development aggravates the scope and severity of light pollution, predicting the responses of biological systems is critical. This is especially important for twilight- and night-active organisms such as fireflies. To attract mates, many adult fireflies produce bioluminescent signals from abdominal, light-emitting organs. Light pollution has been associated with reduced firefly activity in a handful of recent studies, but ours is likely the first to examine how light pollution affects firefly abundances and mating success in a manipulated field experiment. We randomly assigned 3 light pollution treatments to field plots and counted firefly (Photinus pyralis) flashes and individuals within each plot over the course of 5 nights. We also measured firefly mating opportunities in the field under manipulated brighter and darker conditions. We observed significantly fewer firefly flashes in brighter plots, but captured similar numbers of fireflies across light treatment levels. Based on these findings, we suggest that light pollution reduces firefly flash activities without necessarily reducing local firefly abundances in the short term. However, the potential for long-term demographic effects of light pollution remains. There was a significant 114% increase in female responses to the courtship flashes of nearby males in artificially lit vs. unlit plots. Thus, we suggest that reduced female fecundity in light polluted areas is one mechanism potentially driving low firefly abundances in these areas. Our work contributes to the growing body of literature on the consequences of light pollution for animal communication, fitness, and population dynamics.
Presenter #7: Ariel Firebaugh, Environmental Sciences
Convergence of TNF-induced gene expression and Insulin signalingvia transcription factor GATA6
Key Words: Data-driven modeling, crosstalk, insulin signaling, tumor necrosis factor alpha, GATA6
Abstract: Exposure of a cell to extracellular cues leads to changes in cell phenotype through a combination of intracellular signaling and gene expression. The cellular interface where effector proteins of signaling pathways and regulatory transcription factors cross-communicate plays an important role in cell fate decision-making. To study this cellular interface, we combined a signaling compendium with condition-matched transcript profiling data by using a partial-least-squares modeling approach. The transcript profiling data was clustered into groups of tightly co-expressed genes among which one cluster (cluster#9) showed the clearest antagonism between tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) and insulin signaling via Akt signaling. Promoter analysis showed that cluster #9 genes were enriched in GATA-family binding sites. Additionally, a motif-scanning tool revealed that GATA6 contained conserved GSK-3 (a serine-threonine kinase downstream of Akt) phosphorylation motifs. Overexpressed GATA6 showed a mobility shift on SDS PAGE which was reduced by phosphatase treatment, and mass spectrometry analysis on immunopurified GATA6 identified seven phosphorylation sites, 2-3 of which are possible GSK3 targets and reside within the N-terminus of long form GATA6. Among the bioinformatically predicted GSK3 phosphorylation sites, we identified Serine#37 to affect the mobility of long form GATA6 on SDS PAGE. This site is phosphorylated in vitro in a GSK3-dependent manner. Moreover, our chromatin immunoprecipitation studies revealed that a single phosphorylation site mutant of GATA6 (S37AGATA6) binds tighter to the promoters of cluster#9 genes compared to the wild type protein. Ongoing experiments aim to find the consequence of phospho-S37-mediated promoter occupancy change on cellular phenotypes.
Presenter #8: Zeinab Chitforoush, Biomedical Sciences
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Slide Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Board Room 376
Insights into the specificity of Neisserial Opa protein interactions with human receptors
Key Words: Opa proteins, CEACAM, fluorescence polarization, crystallography, receptor recognition
Abstract: Pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of gonorrhea, possess a family of outer membrane proteins referred to as opacity-associated (Opa) proteins. These Opa proteins are β-barrel outer-membrane proteins that bind to host cell receptors, inducing engulfment of the bacterium. To date, there have been over 300 distinct opa alleles sequenced. Differences in sequence have stemmed primarily from recombination events, and are most pronounced in two regions of the protein in the second and third extracellular loops (termed hypervariable regions, HV1 and HV2). These regions are responsible for determining receptor specificity. The most abundant Opa family engages human CEACAM receptors (carcino-embryonic antigen-like cellular adhesion molecules). While the Opa protein family has conserved structural elements, the molecular determinants of the receptor interactions are unknown. We aim to compare the function of a variety of Opa proteins reconstituted into liposomes in order to define how differences in Opa sequence and structure determine receptor binding. To investigate the structural motif for Opa-receptor recognition and engagement, we are employing techniques that will yield both low and high resolution models of the Opa-receptor complex. Affinities for a variety of CEACAM-binding Opa family members were determined using fluorescence polarization, with dissociation constant values ranging from ~1-5 nM. To determine which specific amino acids are involved in receptor recognition, competition assays were performed using different peptides that mimic segments of the HV regions of Opa proteins. X-ray crystallography of the Opa-CEACAM complex is being pursued for a higher resolution understanding, and progress towards the structure will be presented.
Presenter #1: Jen Martin, Chemistry
Comparative Phylogenomics Reveals Spore-Formation Slows Bacterial Evolution
Key Words: Bioinformatics, Sporulation, Phylogenomics
Abstract: Molecular evolutionary rate varies significantly among species and a strict global molecular clock has been rejected across the tree of life. Generation time is one primary life-history trait that influences the molecular evolutionary rate. Theory predicts that organisms with shorter generation times evolve faster because of the accumulation of more DNA replication errors per unit time. Although the generation-time effect has been demonstrated consistently in plants and animals, the evidence of its existence in bacteria is lacking. The bacterial phylum Firmicutes offers an excellent system for testing for a generation-time effect because some of its members can enter a dormant, nonreproductive endospore state in response to harsh environmental conditions. It follows that spore-forming bacteria would--with their longer generation times--evolve more slowly than their non-spore-forming relatives. A phylogenetic comparative approach to analyze 200 Firmicutes genomes revealed that sporulation significantly reduces evolutionary rates. Contrary a previous study, the results provide strong evidence that the evolutionary rates of bacteria, like those of plants and animals, are influenced by generation time.
Presenter #2: Cory Weller, Biology
Transmembrane Channel-Like (TMC) Gene Therapy Restores Auditory Function in Deaf Mice
Key Words: deafness, gene therapy, cochlea, personalized medicine, communication disorders
Abstract: Genetic deafness accounts for up to 50% of hearing loss worldwide, yet there are currently no biologic treatments available. To investigate gene therapy as a potential strategy for restoration of auditory function in patients with genetic hearing loss, we tested a gene augmentation approach in mouse models of genetic deafness. We focused on DFNB7/11 and DFNA36 which are autosomal recessive and dominant deafnesses, respectively, caused by mutations in Transmembrane channel-like 1 (TMC1). Thirty-five recessive mutations and four dominant mutations have been identified in TMC1 and mice that carry targeted deletion of Tmc1, or a dominant point mutation, known as Beethoven, are good models for human DFNB7/11 and DFNA36. We screened several adeno-associated viral (AAV) serotypes and promoters and identified AAV2/1 and chicken beta-actin promoter as an efficient combination for driving expression of exogenous Tmc1 in sensory hair cells of the inner ear. We find that exogenous Tmc1 or closely related ortholog, Tmc2, can restore sensory transduction, auditory brainstem responses and acoustic startle reflexes in otherwise deaf mice, suggesting that gene augmentation with Tmc1 or Tmc2 is well-suited for further development as a strategy for restoration of auditory function in deaf patients who carry TMC1 mutations.
Presenter #3: Charles Askew, Neuroscience
Structure-Function studies of DOT1L and its role in Mixed Lineage Leukemia
Key Words: Structure,Epigenetics,Leukemia,Drug Target
Abstract: The MLL gene is a common target of chromosomal translocations found in human leukemia. MLL-fusion leukemias consistently have poor outcomes, and affect the infants and the elderly population. MLL-fusion leukemias are the result of chromosomal translocations where the MLL protein becomes fused in frame to one of over 60 different partners. One of the most common translocation partners is AF9. The MLL-AF9 chimeric protein recruits DOT1L, a histone 3 lysine 79 methyltransferase (H3K79me1/me2/me3), leading to aberrant gene transcription. We show that DOT1L has three AF9 binding sites, and present the NMR solution structure of a DOT1L-AF9 complex. We generated structure-guided point mutations with varying effects on recruitment of DOT1L to MLL-AF9. ChIP-Seq analyses of H3K79me2 and H3K79me3 show that graded reduction of the DOT1L interaction with MLL-AF9 results in differential losses in H3K79me2 and me3 marks at MLL-AF9 target genes. Furthermore, the degree of DOT1L recruitment defines the level of MLL-AF9 hematopoietic transformation.
Presenter #4: Aravinda Kuntimaddi, Biomedical Sciences
The social (neural) network: A data-driven, multivariate approach to decoding epigenetic variability in the oxytocin receptor gene
Key Words: fmri, epigenetics, oxytocin, machine learning
Abstract: The human brain is a complex, hierarchical dynamical system whose micro- and macroscale components interact to produce myriad mental states. In a large sample (N>100) of healthy young adults, we probed the macroscale neural network architecture underlying three aspects of social perception: perception of animacy, biological motion, and emotional faces. For each task, low-frequency regional BOLD timeseries were extracted from 90 anatomically-defined ROIs (via wavelet decomposition), and interregional coherence was estimated using the minimum variance distortionless response. We then applied graph and information theoretic measures to quantify both network topology (e.g. nodal degree, clustering, and efficiency) and complex, nonlinear dynamics (e.g. sample entropy). Finally, using a sparse Bayesian learning technique for multivariate pattern recognition (relevance vector regression), we attempted to decode inter-individual variability in DNA methylation-a continuous molecular variable-on the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) from these spatiotemporal network characteristics. On the microscale, OXTR methylation mediates endogenous OXT action and thus pro-social behavioral outcomes. Results show that several aspects of "social network" topology and nonlinear dynamics significantly predict OXTR methylation. These findings suggest that factors at the molecular level (i.e. DNA methylation) fine-tune the action of the system by shaping overall network topology, which constrains information flow between macroscale network components and may therefore determine the eventual "quality" of behavioral/mental states. This novel approach to investigating the complex, hierarchical nature of the human brain could ultimately offer critical insights into how abnormalities at the micro- and macroscales of a system interact to produce disordered conditions such as autism.
Presenter #5: Tyler Santander, Psychology
Adenosine signaling establishes a barrier to oligodendrocyte progenitor cell migration during spinal cord development
Key Words: neurodevelopment, glia, adenosine, cell migration
Abstract: During spinal cord development, a selective barrier is established to permit motor axon exit into the periphery, but restrict oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) from migrating into peripheral nerves. In addition, OPCs generated in the ventral spinal cord migrate to distribute themselves throughout and actively maintain spacing and homeostasis through adulthood. Contact-mediated repulsion has been implicated in both of these processes, but the signaling mechanism involved is not understood. Our lab has recently shown that OPCs are capable of migrating onto and myelinating peripheral motor axons, and that a novel glial population, motor exit point (MEP) glia are responsible for preventing this migration during normal development. We screened 1280 compounds to discover the mechanism that restricts OPC migration within the spinal cord during normal development. This study uses live imaging to show that adenosine signaling via the A2a receptor is necessary to prevent ectopic OPC migration. Disrupting adenosine signaling also alters OPC numbers and distribution within the spinal cord. This suggests that adenosine is involved both in maintaining normal OPC spacing within the spinal cord, and in repelling OPCs from ectopically migrating onto peripheral nerves.
Presenter #6: Taylor Welsh, Biology
Coordination of simultaneous in- and out-of-phase calcium and PKA oscillations by AKAP5
Key Words: Oscillations, Modeling, Beta-Cell
Abstract: Glucose uptake by pancreatic beta-cells leads to oscillations in cytosolic calcium concentrations and these calcium oscillations are the primary regulator in insulin secretion. Previous studies observed out-of-phase oscillations of calcium and plasma membrane Protein Kinase A, PKA, in the pancreatic beta-cell line Min6. These calcium oscillations are driven by the voltage-gated calcium channel Cav1.2, and regulation of Cav1.2 by PKA is coordinated by the scaffold protein A-Kinase Anchoring Protein 5, AKAP5. Experimentally, we observed disruption of either the Cav1.2-AKAP5 interaction or general PKA tethering decreased the percent of cells exhibiting regular calcium oscillations. Through FRET-biosensors and computational models, we evaluated the role of AKAP5 in the coordination of calcium and PKA activity. Measurement of AKAP5 localized PKA activity showed oscillations in-phase with calcium, in contrast to the out-of-phase PKA oscillations at the plasma membrane. We developed different computational models of hypothesized mechanisms of these PKA dynamics. These models identified that the AKAP5 localized and calcium activated Adenylyl Cyclase 8 is responsible for the in-phase PKA activity and the plasma membrane Adenylyl Cyclase 5 drives the out-of-phase PKA activity. Finally, we extended our model to examine if the AKAP5 tethered PKA positive feedback on Cav1.2 was necessary for calcium oscillations and found that the AKAP5 tethered PKA, but not the plasma membrane PKA, was required for the development of calcium oscillations. Through the combination of experiments and computational models we were able to identify a novel mechanism for AKAP5 coordination of simultaneous in- and out-of-phase PKA and calcium oscillations.
Presenter #7: Eric Greenwald, Biomedical Sciences
Arts and Humanities Paper Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Newcomb Gallery
Composing Text and Laying Stone: Complementary Materials of Medieval Orcadian Architecture
Key Words: Medieval Art & Architecture, Icelandic sagas, Cultural Memory Theory, Interdisciplinary Methodology
Abstract: The medieval Icelandic sagas often incorporate elaborate and varied references to medieval architecture. These references are often embedded within the narrative itself and presented as fact-as the reflection of the real, physical landscape of the medieval North. When extant medieval ruins seem to corroborate directly with these references, architectural historians tend to embrace the texts as historical documents-rather than literary constructions-and cite their content as fact. Yet, the textual 'reality effect' obscures the heavily constructed and mediated nature of the sagas as literary fabrications with early thirteenth-century biases. In this presentation, I reference cultural memory theory to differentiate between the literary architecture in Orkneyinga saga and the corresponding medieval ruins in the modern Scottish landscape. This distinction provides an opportunity to examine the media-specific motifs that manifest through text and stone and consider how each construction reinforces the same political ideology in different ways. This approach embraces interdisciplinary dialogue between the media, yet contextualizes the content of each according to its own medial limitations, allusions, and exempla. While this example encompasses only one specific saga and region to demonstrate the methodology, this socio-medial approach is applicable to overlapping texts and artifacts from any discipline or field.
Presenter #1: Jennifer Grayburn, Art
Even the Stones Cry Out: Archival Research and the Inhuman Turn
Key Words: ecology, anthropocene, geology, art, philosophy
Abstract: Recent developments in speculative realism (or in Jane Bennett's term, "vibrant materialism") offer the chance to substantially reconsider the place of matter itself within the archive-thinking of the basic building blocks of the cosmos not solely as tools to be manipulated and processed by human researchers and their creations, but as substances that encode and communicate their own archival data, independent of anthropocentric manipulation, or indeed of the Anthropocene, period.My paper begins this process by taking up first the primary component in man's initial technical undertakings, and the surface for his earliest inscriptions: stone. Drawing on the notion of ancestrality developed by Quentin Meillassoux's thought experiment, the "arche-fossil," as well as Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's considerations on the "vitality" of stone, I offer a readings of the "rock books" of pulp mag phenomenon Richard Sharpe Shaver, actual stones which Shaver claimed encode enigmatic narratives far predating humanity. The potential realignment along new materialist lines inherent within works such as these, I argue, allows us to reconsider stones (and likewise metal, water, petroleum, wood, etc.) as crucial contributions to archives stretching beyond the human-materials available to be read, but never ultimately comprehended.
Presenter #2: Andrew Ferguson, English
"A Jazz Thing:" Jazz-Film Interactions and the Shaping of the Jazz Art World, 1980-Present
Key Words: jazz, film, art worlds, culture industry, discourse intersections
Abstract: My research investigates current jazz musicians' involvement in the creation and production of film and television scores. Combining ethnographic research, industry structural analysis, and sociological theorization, I examine these artists' experiences and career negotiations within the film industry's hierarchies, networks, and conventions. Drawing on Howard Becker's conceptualization of "art worlds," I analyze how these jazz-film relationships both shape and expand the jazz art world, and how they interact with jazz discourse addressing aesthetics, creativity, and the relationships between art and commerce. Additionally, I inspect the circumstances in which jazz is invited into the film industry, and what these invitations reveal about jazz's expected role in film productions, as well as its perceived significations in popular culture. Accordingly, I consider how jazz music's relationships with film effects the ways jazz is encountered and perceived among mainstream audiences-particularly in terms of class, race, and cultural value-and how these perceptions influence the jazz art world as a whole. More specifically, I illustrate how jazz's presence in commercial film has the potential to reflect, reinforce, shift, or even transform perceptions of jazz as a holistic genre in American popular culture. Ultimately, this project provides a resource that directly engages with the experiences of jazz artists working within the film industry, positioning jazz studies in an interdisciplinary dialogue with the fields of film studies, business, psychology, sociology, and cultural studies.
Presenter #3: Gretchen Carlson, Music
Never Nude: The Fallen Body on the Early English Stage
Key Words: biblical drama, Adam and Eve, costuming, theology
Abstract: In the mid-sixteenth century, Protestant reform in England spurred large-scale destruction of church images, particularly of those that depicted saints and the three persons of God. Only scant evidence survives to suggest that biblical theater too came under explicit sanction, but sixteenth-century manuscripts of Christian drama nevertheless register persistent anxieties about their visual medium. My paper puts records of these plays' costuming alongside the text of the Norwich Grocers' Play (a play about the Fall of Adam and Eve) in order to show that the theater defends its medium by emphasizing the very aspects of drama that most threaten its existence. The depiction of nudity in particular, I argue, becomes a case study for the relationship between theater and sins of the eye: in a theological context where Adam's disobedience ushers in deficiency and shame, the plays deploy imitations of nakedness to grapple with their own status as imperfect copies of divine works. Through its analysis of sixteenth-century staging conditions and the theology of the Fall, my work suggests that Adam's and Christ's consciously theatricalized bodies triumph over depraved sight on the early English stage as nothing more or less than the products of fallen artistry.
Presenter #4: Gretchen York, English
Raising Achilles: An Unfinished Epic and the Problems of Roman Adolescence
Key Words: Classics
Abstract: The Achilleid, an unfinished epic by the 1st century AD Roman poet Statius, offers us a glimpse of the Greek hero of Homer's Iliad before he sets off for his famous exploits at Troy. At the same time, Statius gives this transitional moment in Achilles' career a particularly Roman resonance by representing the young hero in similar terms to the stock "young man in love" character of the comic stage. By reading the Achilleid's account of Achilles' adolescence through the lens of the comedy the Adelphoe ("The Brothers") by the playwright Terence, I will show how Statius draws on similar anxieties about the perils of adolescence but undermines the kind of happy ending comedies provide. The result both illustrates Achilles' particularly dark future and underscores the depth of everyday Romans' concerns about the potential threat posed by elite Roman men to the very social order they were bred to lead.
Presenter #5: Peter Moench, Classics
Infernal Voices: The Catalogue of Women in 'Aeneid' 6
Key Words: Vergil, Homer, Allusion, Comparison, Characterization
Abstract: One of the most famous and studied scenes in Vergil's great epic the 'Aeneid' is the heartrending final encounter between Aeneas and Dido in the underworld. The preceding passage has garnered less attention, but is generally acknowledged as an important introduction. It contains a catalogue of women who inhabit the sorrowful location of the "Mourning Fields." The list's last member is Dido (6.442-51), whom Aeneas then approaches for their stirring final scene. The catalogue of heroines sets a tragic backdrop for the encounter and provides an ensemble of women to compare to Dido. I offer two new insights to the interpretation of how the catalogue relates to Dido. I argue that in addition to the women explicitly named in the catalogue, an allusion to the catalogue of women in Homer's 'Odyssey' implies two more women as comparandae to Dido-namely, Ariadne and Penelope. These additions have powerful implications for the characterization not only of Dido, but also Aeneas. Since Aeneas is Dido's lover, when Dido is compared to Ariadne, Aeneas is linked to Ariadne's counterpart, Theseus. Theseus abandoned Ariadne after she had helped him defeat the minotaur and escape the labyrinth, and therefore this pairing may suggest an unfavorable characterization of Aeneas. The comparison of Dido to Penelope likewise associates Aeneas with Odysseus. This parallel may color the scene as particularly tragic, since it brings to mind a story where lovers are happily reunited. In the 'Aeneid', on the other hand, the hero and heroine are eternally separated.
Presenter #6: Megan Bowen, Classics
Realism and representation in animal models
Key Words: philosophy of science, mental disorders, animal models
Abstract: Researchers and practitioners rarely take on a realist attitude about animal models in psychiatry. Why does this happen? I will argue that even the best among current models fail to satisfy two requirements that demand care in balancing them one against the other: the psychological construct requirement, and the mechanistic requirement. Failure to satisfy them explains why researchers rarely believe in their models. I conclude by pointing out that, if one were to be a realist about animal models in psychiatry, interventionist and representational aspects of that attitude would be inextricably mixed.
Presenter #7: Andrei Marasoiu, Philosophy
Cursed Waters and Enchanted Isles: The Baratarian Archipelago and the Specter of Imperial Transgression in Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Key Words: Enchantment, Imperial Violence, National Spaces
Abstract: Set in the mythical world of Grand Isle and the Cheniere Caminada, Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" offers a protagonist who is bound to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the islands of Louisiana's Barataria Bay. When Edna Pontellier manifests many of the traditional tropes of victims of magic and enchantment, we are confronted with Chopin's Baratarian islands which are intertwined with supra-normal qualities. The waters and islands of the Baratarian archipelago become sites of encounter with a lingering magic tied to a dark, cultural mythos. This magic emerges as Edna perceives disruptions in the orientation of her own existence within the fixed time and space of the novella's reality-so that she occupies a liminal space which is neither firmly set in the world of the novel or in the other-world of the enchantment. But this phenomenon of enchanted liminality points us to a subversive awareness-whether conscious or unconscious-of the complex dynamics surrounding American imperialism in the global South. Utilizing the criticism of scholars Benitez-Rojo, Birnbaum, and Ingemark, this project will examine the shadow plot of the novella where the Baratarian archipelago is a space continually disrupted by its fraught past of piratical enterprise amid encroaching national boundaries. Edna's "awakening" following her encounter with the "spirit of the Gulf," reinforced by legends of Jean Laffite and the Baratarian pirates, reflects anxieties of identity that exist under conditions of cultural encounter and conflict. Edna's enchanted-ness, taken in conjunction with considerations of the archipelago as a historically transnational space, raises the specter of American imperial transgressive violence, and simultaneously marks that transgression as unresolved and self-perpetuating.
Presenter #8: Emelia Abbe, English
Arts and Humanities Slide Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Conference Room 367
To Hell and Back: Mapping Dante's Inferno onto Moscow in Venedikt Erofeev's Moscow to the End of the Line
Key Words: digital humanities, mapping, Hell, Russia
Abstract: This presentation examines the relationship between Dante's Inferno and Russian writer Venedikt Erofeev's 1969 postmodern work Moscow to the End of the Line. Erofeev tells the story of a drunk trying to make his way from the center of Moscow to the factory town of Petushki, which he believes to be Paradise on Earth. While many critics acknowledge that the main character's journey through Moscow is Dantean, the reasons why the journey reminds the reader of Inferno have yet to be fully examined. Through the use of Google Earth and other mapping programs this presentation will look at the real and imagined geographies of Dante's Inferno and Erofeev's Moscow to the End of the Line, and how these geographies interact with Moscow's real life topography. This presentation will discuss the use of Dantean images in Moscow to the End of the Line and why the author chose Dante's particular version of Hell to create a social commentary on the Soviet Union.
Presenter #1: Jill Martiniuk, Slavic Languages & Literatures
The Fashionable Paragone: Hair as Sculptural Production in Eighteenth Century France
Key Words: Fashion, Sculpture, Marie-Antoinette
Abstract: In celebration of France's naval victory over the British in June of 1778, Marie-Antoinette wore a coiffeur featuring a fully rigged wooden replica of the frigate that had led the French to victory. Despite scholarly attention to the politics surrounding Marie-Antoinette's hairstyles, scholars have ignored the artistic production, construction, and materiality of La Belle Poule and similar hairstyles of the latter half of the eighteenth century. These poufs present a unique moment in the history of art, sculpture, and fashion history, defying contemporary constraints on both hairdressing and sculptural production. With the appearance of celebrity hairdressers like Legros Rumigny and Autié Léonard (the artist behind La Belle Poule), a new notion of the individual hairstylist as a creator and artist developed in from 1760 to 1780. Legros's treatise and Léonard's memoir present two unique case studies through which we can understand the formation of artistic identity technically outside, but nevertheless in intimate dialogue with, the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture's vision of the "Fine Arts." I aim to bridge the gap between material culture studies and art history by considering the hairstyles in the latter half of the eighteenth century as a form of artistic production and as an expression of hairdressers' conscious attempt to separate themselves from the Eighteenth century conception of the mechanical arts.
Presenter #2: Alicia Caticha, Art
Statistical Modeling Without Seeing the Data
Key Words: experimental design, methodology, statistical modeling
Abstract: Data is privately maintained by participants and never revealed to researchers, while still enabling statistical models to be fit and scientific hypotheses tested. Maintained Individual Data Distributed Likelihood Estimation (MIDDLE) is a novel paradigm for research in the behavioral, social, and health sciences. Statistical models are fit by sending an objective function and vector of parameters to each participants' personal device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, computer), where the likelihood of that individual's data is calculated locally. Only the likelihood value is returned to the central optimizer. The optimizer aggregates likelihood values from responding participants and chooses new vectors of parameters until the model converges. The process of fitting models is detailed and the performance of MIDDLE is compared to conventional analysis in simulation studies.
Presenter #3: Joshua Pritikin, Psychology
Angry or Resigned? : Understanding Rural Female Suicide in China
Key Words: Suicide, Women, China, Medicine, Family
Abstract: In China, rural females have traditionally been the most likely to commit suicide in comparison to all other group. This is in direct contrast to most nations, where urban males are most likely to kill themselves. Additionally, rural female suicide in China remained dominant throughout the significant cultural and historical strife of the last century. Granted, while recent statistics indicate not only a reversal in the predominance of rural female suicide in China, but also a significant decline in the number of suicides overall, it still remains critical for scholars to determine what has precipitated these changes, what are the potential lessons for other nations, and whether or not these shifts are permanent or simply an anomaly. Before scholars can tackle these questions, it is essential that they understand the traditionally predominant form of suicide in China - rural female suicide. The goal of this presentation, then, is to situate female suicide in China within the broader historical understanding of China's modernization and its effects on the traditional Chinese conception of both marriage and the family. To this end, there will be an emphasis on the time period from the turn-of-the-20th Century to the early 21st Century. Moreover, particular attention will be paid to the narrative of resistance many scholars have developed to explain rural female suicide, especially newer studies that paint suicide as a reaction solely to heightened moments of family tension and question the lingering influence of traditional marriage and familial structures.
Presenter #4: Alyssa Wang, East Asian Studies
Digital Humanities Slide Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Conference Room 367
Regular Expressions and Avant
Key Words: experimental fiction, grammar, natural language processing
Abstract: This project represents my first efforts to apply natural language processing, a branch of computer science research, to the study of experimental English literature. The term "regular expressions" in my title refers to a type of computer script shortcut for text searching, and also in another sense to the types of "regular" grammatical structures of literary expression that too often get lost in the reading process. I'm thinking here of the essential elements of literary language that are too often skimmed over in the act of reading: prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, determiners, and articles definite and indefinite. For the Huskey Exhibition, I'll share some of my ongoing experiments with Gertrude Stein's famous work Tender Buttons, known for its extraordinarily complex, non-narrative language. By applying natural language processing tools to determine the functional grammar of Stein's language, and then re-organizing the work in terms of its grammatical forms, digital tools give us new ways of approaching this formidable text. By writing Python scripts to re-organize and retrieve compelling data from this famous text, I hope to assess both the content of Stein's work as well as the viability of such computer-mediated research methods. While Tender Buttons is the current test case for the project, I hope eventually to develop my code into a standalone application. By creating a tool for English researchers to search and sort by grammatical structure rather than simply keywords, I hope to expand the range of traditional research methods like close reading, enabling the critical sensibility of English researchers with the raw processing power of the computer.
Presenter #5: Jordan Buysse, English
Hearing Silent Woolf
Key Words: digital, sound, literature, modernism, bibliography
Abstract: This presentation offers preliminary findings and future plans for a text analysis project that aims to examine Woolf's irregular use of quotation marks throughout her corpus as the moments in which her interests in heard sound, print text, and the politics of recording intersect. Most text analysis protocols treat punctuation marks as extraneous information, focusing on the vocabulary itself as the tokens of interest. My project explores just these often-overlooked markings as the most representative examples of the human voice in a text and, accordingly, deeply embedded in questions of power, politics, and what it means to be human. The preliminary findings show a sharp decrease in the proportions of text that Woolf devotes to quoted speech over her career, and I argue for an analogous stylistic shift in her work from more Victorianist prose to more modernist aesthetics. This general trajectory is accompanied by a shift away from interests in society and towards the individual, and I argue that this decline corresponds to a considerable increase in the amount of speech that Woolf does not flag with quotation marks, moments that frequently correspond to non-normative speaking voices. Woolf hears these as falling through the cracks of traditional modes of inscribing sound, and as a coda, I offer future plans and directions for processing and bringing to the surface those moments where a character's speech is unmarked by punctuation.
Presenter #6: Brandon Walsh, English
Ivanhoe: a Platform for Textual Play
Key Words: Pedagogy, Digital Humanities, Games, Theory of Play
Abstract: As members of the Praxis Program cohort at the Scholars' Lab, we are reimagining Ivanhoe-the digital platform for roleplaying and textual intervention first formulated by Jerome McGann, Johanna Drucker, and Bethany Nowviskie. Ivanhoe began as a space for creative interaction and intervention growing out of "dissatisfaction with the limitations inherent in received forms of interpretation"; the players "wanted to develop a more imaginative form of critical methodology" (McGann and Drucker 2003). This concretized thought experiment has seemed ideal for use in classroom curricula (McGann et al. 2004) that draw increasingly on notions of play and games for pedagogical outcomes (Willett et al. 2009). As we evaluated our goals for Ivanhoe, we found ourselves wrestling with a classic question of digital classroom tools: how to make a program that students engage with by choice, rather than by force? We envision such a resource as building on the presently available WordPress theme designed by the previous year's Praxis group, keeping its emphasis on sustained roleplay and mutual commentary. This flexibility provides space for players to negotiate their roles and the conditions of their participation in a variety of emergent communities of play. Through this new build, we aim to realize the playful spontaneity inherent in the early Ivanhoe sessions, while providing a game experience better suited to today's classroom spaces. We will demonstrate some sessions already played within the game, thus showing the capabilities of the platform.
Presenter #7: Swati Chawla, History
Physical Sciences and Math Slide Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Conference Room 177
High-resolution Radio Continuum Measurements of the Nuclear Disks of Arp 220
Key Words: Starburst, Extreme, Merger, Feedback, Galaxy
Abstract: We present the most robust measurement to date of the structure of the nuclear disks in the closest ultraluminous infrared galaxy, Arp 220. We use continuum observations at 6 and 33 GHz using the recently upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array to achieve high angular resolution with little or no concerns for opacity, allowing us to estimate the true distribution of the star formation in this system. Based on the new constraints on the size of the emitting region at 33 GHz and the flux density measurements at 6 and 33 GHz, we show the implications for physical conditions in the nuclear disks, the potential role of feedback, and the nature of the energy source. The small measured sizes allow us to estimate the highest luminosity surface densities and star formation rate surface densities measured, to our knowledge, for any local star-forming system. The high luminosity surface densities place the system near the limiting case of a ``maximal starburst" in which radiation pressure is just balanced by self-gravity. The small measured sizes also imply that by wavelengths shorter than 1 mm, dust absorption must play an important role in the observed light distribution. Finally, Arp 220 is transparent only in the frequency range ~ 5 to 300 GHz, being opaque below 5 GHz due to free-free absorption and above 300 GHz due to dust absorption. At 33 GHz, right in the transparent regime, we can recover most of the emitted flux.
Presenter #1: Loreto Barcos-Munoz, Astronomy
Emerging Super Star Clusters
Key Words: Astrophysics, massive stars, super star clusters, feedback
Abstract: Massive stars produce strong, fast winds and eventually explode as supernova, both of which greatly modify their environment and thus make massive stars critical to galaxy evolution as they inject energy and distribute heavy elements. Massive stars can be harbored in the hundreds to thousands in a single super star cluster (SSC), which is a dense and compact massive star cluster that formed due to extreme star formation. The combined feedback from large populations of massive stars is especially important to how these SSCs evolve and their eventual fate. Through a multi-wavelength observational campaign, I am assessing how super star clusters undergo a critical evolutionary stage in which they emerge from their embedding natal envelopes. Particularly, I am investigating the environmental impact and the role of evolved massive stars, called Wolf-Rayet stars, in driving that transition through their powerful winds and strong ionizing radiation. I have conducted a pilot study of a cluster S26 in NGC 4449 undergoing this brief phase, which has spurred a mini-survey to expand the number of known regions.
Presenter #2: Kimberly Sokal, Astronomy
Biomass-related Catalytic Oxidation on Au/TiO2 - Mechanistic Studies of Acid Oxidation to Gold Ketenylidene
Key Words: Biomass conversion, Catalysis, Au/TiO2 nanoparticles
Abstract: Carbohydrates, oils, and fatty acids, also known as biomass, can be converted into key chemical intermediates to replace nonrenewable fossil fuel resources used in chemical fuel synthesis. Breaking C-O and C-C bond studies of model carboxylic acids over transition metal catalysts have generated significant interest because of their potential application in the conversion of fatty acids to (C=C) olefins at low temperatures. Here I show the steps in the oxidation of carboxylic acids (acetic, propionic and butyric acid) on a Au/TiO2 catalyst with ~3 nm diameter Au nanoparticles at 126°C. Bulk gold is an inert, noble metal; however, gold particles with diameters in the nanometer range in contact with reducible oxide supports exhibit catalytic activity at temperatures below 0°C. Studies suggest that the catalytic activity occurs at interface sites between the metal and the support. Our group discovered, by kinetic spectroscopy means, at the interface the first step in all three acid oxidation processes is the dissociation of O2 at the Au-Ti4+ dual site to form activated O adatoms on the surface. Then, in sequential steps, a-CH and β-CH bonds next to the COO group are oxidatively dehydrogenated to produce C=C moieties. This is followed by C-C and C-O bond scission yielding adsorbed ketenylidene, Au2C=C=O, an exotic species formed just before full oxidation to CO2.
Presenter #3: Monica McEntee, Chemistry
Synthesis of indolizidines via the Dearomatization of 2-methylpyrrole Using the Electron-rich Tungsten Fragment, {WTp(NO)(PMe3)}
Key Words: Novel Organic Synthesis, aromatics, pharmaceuticals
Abstract: Indolizidine alkaloids represent a diverse class of biologically active molecules. Presently, the simplest method of obtaining indolizidines is by extraction from natural sources. This research focuses on the discovery of a novel, simple pathway to create indolizidines beginning with an aromatic precursor. Because of their inherent chemical stability aromatic molecules are rarely used as starting materials despite their wide availability. Through the use of an electron-rich tungsten-containing chemical agent, {WTp(NO)(PMe3)}, the stability of aromatic molecules can be breached through the disruption of their electronic configuration in a process known as dearomatization. Once an aromatic molecule has been 'dearomatized' it is susceptible to a wide range of reactions that are inaccessible by conventional methods. The aromatic center of this research is 2-methylpyrrole. Once 'dearomatized' by the tungsten fragment, 2-methylpyrrole posses increased reactivity and can, in two simple steps, form a basic indolizidine structure with two carbons available for further transformation. Before this newly created indolizidine can be sent away for biological testing it must be removed from the metal. This task is made increasingly difficult by the formation of an iminium bond during the creation of the indolizidine core. This feature augments the already strong bond between the metal and the aromatic. Using various reducing agents the iminium bond is transformed into an amine making oxidation/removal of the metal much simpler. This novel method of synthesizing indolizidine rings in only a few steps provides a new approach to making new chemical compounds with pharmaceutical potential.
Presenter #4: Benjamin Liebov, Chemistry
Quantum Information
Key Words: quantum, information, physics, computer
Abstract: Our ability to process and exchange information depends fundamentally on the language or architecture in which we write our information. Computers, after all, have to be built using physics and electronics. Quantum Mechanics is the most successful description of the microscopic world in the history of physics. The laws of quantum physics are very different compared to the laws that govern the macroscopic world. Quantum Information and Quantum Information is the field of research that explores what happens when we try to use the quantum phenomena to store and process our information.
Presenter #5: Nir Sridhar, Physics
Tossed at Sea: The Chemical Milling of Plastic by Ocean Water
Key Words: plastic, ocean contamination
Abstract: Aside from the aesthetic problem plastics in the ocean present, there is also great concern for the environmental impacts as well. Prior to 2009, the primary environmental concern regarding plastic hinged on the idea that plastic does not readily degrade and may take hundreds to thousands of years to do so. The reasoning behind this is that plastics are predominantly composed of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons, by their chemical nature, tend to be highly unreactive, especially the alkanes. The idea of hydrocarbon stability in natural environments was challenged when Saido (2009) reported detectable amounts of styrene monomers, dimers, and trimers in ocean water and sand from beaches along the Japanese coastline. These molecules are not synthesized in nature but are the result of manmade products. Reported here, is the first evidence for purportedly rapid plastic abiotic degradation associated with popular consumable hard plastics: high density polyethylene, polycarbonate, and polyethylene terephthalate (HDPE, PC, and PETE) under typical oceanic surface temperatures (20-23°C). The rates of degradation are compared in these simulated marine environments to those observed in fresh waters and display a strong disparity. We continue to investigate the degradation process taking advantage of laboratory-based and field-based experiments. Along with observing the physical and chemical changes that take place, we follow the changing isotope composition of plastics during abiotic degradation processes which would serve as a proxy for the length of time pieces of plastic have been circulating in surface ocean waters, thereby acting as a geochronometer.
Presenter #6: Heather Sullivan, Environmental Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Slide Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Conference Room 481
Liberals think more analytically (more WEIRD) than conservatives
Key Words: politics, culture, thought style, cognition, perception
Abstract: Henrich and colleagues (2010) summarized cultural differences in psychology and argued that people from one particular culture are outliers: people from societies that are Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD). This study shows that liberals think WEIRDer than conservatives. In five studies with more than 5,000 participants, we found that liberals think more analytically (an element of WEIRD thought) than moderates and conservatives. Study 3 replicates this finding in the very different political culture of China, although it held only for people in more modernized urban centers. These results suggest that liberals and conservatives in the same country think as if they were from different cultures. Studies 4-5 show that briefly training people to think analytically causes them to form more liberal opinions, whereas training them to think holistically causes shifts to more conservative opinions.
Presenter #1: Thomas Talhlem, Psychology
Project Implicit Mental Health: Findings from a Large-Scale Demonstration Website
Key Words: mental health, implicit associations, Internet research
Abstract: Recent theories and research highlight the pivotal role automatic processing plays in mental health. For instance, implicit associations have been shown to predict symptoms and behaviors associated with psychopathology. Project Implicit Mental Health (PIMH) is a demonstration website that allows the general public to participate in studies where they can learn about their own implicit attitudes related to mental illness. This project investigates automatic mental health associations across a variety of disorder domains in a large sample, and examines how implicit associations relate to self-reported symptoms. Volunteers self-selected to participate in a study from several possible topics (alcohol use, anxiety, depression, eating disorders) and completed measures of demographics, self-reported symptoms, explicit associations, and implicit associations (using the Implicit Association Test [IAT]). The alcohol, anxiety, and depression studies examined implicit associations linking self and other words and: drinker (versus abstainer in the alcohol study), anxious (versus calm in the anxiety study), or sad (versus happy in the depression study). In the eating disorders study, individuals categorized shameful and acceptable words and high fat and low fat foods. Results reveal that stronger self-drinker, self-anxious, self-sad, and high fat food-shameful implicit associations were each significantly correlated with greater self-reported symptomatology (in that disorder domain). Moreover, implicit associations predicted symptoms beyond explicit evaluations across all domains. Findings will be discussed in light of clinical applications, and theories of automatic processing in mental health.
Presenter #2: Alexandra Werntz, Psychology
A Meta-Analysis on Change in Implicit Social Cognition
Key Words: social psychology, implicit bias, prejudice, attitudes, stereotypes, identity
Abstract: Biases outside of conscious awareness or control have been implicated in many social issues, ranging from racial disparities to depression. As a result, many interventions have been developed to change these implicit biases so that they are better aligned with conscious values and beliefs. However, little is known about the relative effectiveness or generalizability of these interventions. To address this gap, we conducted a multivariate network meta-analysis of 489 studies to change implicit bias. We examined and found that the some approaches to changing implicit bias were more effective than others. Moreover, interventions that were effective in changing implicit bias were not necessarily effective in changing behavior. Our results provide structure to implicit bias research and suggest that interventions that affect implicit bias will not necessarily have effects on behavior in applied settings.
Presenter #3: Calvin Lai, Psychology
Longing for Love in Karachi, How Muslim women contend with conflicting global cultural discourses.
Key Words: Globalization, intimacy, discourses
Abstract: This paper focuses on the discursive strategies middle class Pakistani women across two cohorts employ when contending with conflicting global cultural discourses about partnered relationships with men. Examining the schemas that women bring to bear in discussing their romantic relationships with men I shed light on the way in which individuals' strategies are embedded in and informed by the dynamic interplay between global discourses and state power. Older participants' narratives reflected a binary that mimicked the 1970s state framing of globalization in binary terms. Younger participants' narratives reflected the Musharraf government's framing of globalization to favor neoliberalism. Thus both participants narratives imply that Global discourses need to be concretized through state policy and institutional structures before they are reflected in individual subjectivities and that modernization does not advance in fixed stages.
Presenter #4: Fauzia Husain, Sociology
Do Cheaters Never Prosper? An Introduction to Test Fraud Research
Key Words: testing, cheating, psychometrics,
Abstract: Each year, millions of students take the SAT, ACT, or GRE as they prepare to apply to colleges and graduate programs all over the world. High-stakes standardized tests are increasingly common and unfortunately, in combination with the development of new technology, have led to the invention of new and more sophisticated cheating techniques. In fact, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing confirmed cases of cheating on high-stakes examinations in 39 U.S. states between 2009 and 2014. In this talk, I will provide an overview of modern cheating behaviors and give examples of how psychometric analyses and experimental studies may be helpful in detecting instances of test fraud. Specifically this talk will address the analysis of brain dump test fraud, occurring when examinees share test items, response options, and/or answers with others. Examinees who previously accessed brain dumps should have identifiable response patterns in terms of the correctness of their answers and their item response times. I will briefly explain analyses of known cases of brain dump test fraud on certification exams to address the degree to which compromised items and brain dump users can be statistically detected. I will then describe a novel experimental paradigm that could significantly contribute to the literature on test fraud by mimicking a brain dump in a laboratory setting. Cheating on exams threatens the validity of test scores but research in this area helps maintain fair testing for examinees across the globe.
Presenter #5: Sarah Thomas, Psychology
NAFTA, Drug Traffic, and Corruption
Key Words: Economic Development, Trade, Political Corruption
Abstract: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) caused costs and benefits to its member countries. In general, these positive and negative effects in the U.S.-Mexico trade are well documented in literature. However, one essential aspect has not yet been studied by International Political Economy. Once NAFTA intensified U.S.-Mexico cross border trade, unemployment in Mexico rose, a job market shift occurred and many Mexican workers found jobs in Drug Traffic Organizations (DTOs). In order to generate profits through the sale of illegal drugs in the United States (U.S.), the DTOs fought over the control of territory and offered bribes to Mexican politicians, resulting in high levels of violence in Mexico and positioning the United States as the largest consumer of illegal drugs in the world. One way to explain the socioeconomic effects of NAFTA on drug production, consumption and trafficking is to examine the role of political corruption in Mexico. Given this objective, I propose an empirical model to estimate the qualitative and quantitative effects of the Trade Openness Index U.S.-Mexico on different categories of illegal drug activity in both countries. In particular, five consumption categories (type of drug, age group, sex, ethnicity and employment status), two production categories (cultivated plants and quantity of drugs seized), and two socioeconomic costs (health care costs and productivity losses) are studied. Preliminary results suggest significant and positive impacts of this trade liberalization process on the nine variables. Finally, some policy recommendations are offered.
Presenter #6: Carlos Pulido Hernandez, Economics
Architecture Presentations, 9:30am - 11:30am, Newcomb Gallery
Perception, Place and Conflict: Landscapes of Energy in Germany's Ammerland Region
Key Words: energy production , cultural landscapes, perception
Abstract: The landscape of energy production is changing on a global scale. Our case study is the Ammerland region in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is rural, agricultural, and low elevation. Here, energy policy financially favors subsidized biogas and wind energy over historical regional uses, raising the cost of land and increasing competition for parcels. Historically, peat was extracted from this landscape for fuel and now is extracted for use by the nursery industry. In direct competition with agriculture and peat, wind and biogas farms are dramatically reshaping the landscape character, a critical component of the local tourist economy. Thus, the Ammerland region can be understood as an "Energy Landscape" where the means to produce energy are visible and spatial. Through shifting land use, energy policy alters the physical and psychological experience of the German landscape as well as the perception of energy production. The land is perceived both as something that is bought and sold as a commodity, as well as something that must be preserved for its cultural and aesthetic value. Residents reacting against the changing land use towards energy production react to three things; spatial interruptions in the landscape on a human scale; threat to tourism and economic viability; and shift from perceived "traditional" land uses. We will analyze the psychological impact of energy production, which disrupts the resident's perception of the landscape and creates conflict about future land use policy. This research is essential to the field because it asks how we will experience and design future energy landscapes.
Presenter #1: Jenna Harris & Mary McCall, Architecture
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska: Transient Arctic City
Key Words: Arctic, resource extraction, transient workforce, population fluctuation
Abstract: The Arctic is a region of flux, not only in terms of climate change, melting ice, and shrinking habitats, but also in terms of the transient nature of human habitation. Only within recent history, have we established permanent urban centers in the region. Often spurred by a local abundance of natural resources, many Arctic cities developed solely to support resource extraction. Located at the northernmost point of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska presents an example of this condition. Since the discovery of oil in the area in the late 1960s, Prudhoe Bay's core population has been comprised mostly of a transient workforce. Differing from the typical 40-hour work-week and daily commute that many of us experience, these workers live and work on-site in periods that last anywhere from one week to a few months and then return home for an equal amount of time. The cyclical nature of Prudhoe Bay's population impacts the interconnected network of relationships that extend into surrounding systems of transportation and infrastructure. The objectives of this investigation are threefold: first, to catalogue and map the dynamic regional network, second, to provide a spatial representation of the oil industry, Arctic environment and workers' experience, and third, to provide a framework to inform future design and development in Prudhoe Bay and other Arctic cities. The compilation and visualization of this information is crucial for championing future research, especially in design fields, because current data about the Arctic is often limited, scattered, lacks visual representation and excludes human experience. This exploration stems from an Arctic initiative established at the University of Virginia School of Architecture by faculty members Leena Cho and Matthew Jull. The research presented is the collaborative work of graduate students Jennifer Livingston and Rachelle Trahan.
Presenter #2: Jennifer Livingston, Architecture
Community Space and Scale
Key Words: design, people, architecture, space, social
Abstract: Like many European cities, Paris provides a model for inclusive public spaces that promote a sense of community. By creating spaces that bridge quotidian activities including work, leisure, and home, the city forms junctures which have the potential to invite participation of people from all socio-economic backgrounds, of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. The design of form, space and light at these particular junctures, while contributing to the aura of the space, cannot alone build this inclusive, communal space. The presence of community must extend beyond the juncture into adjacent spaces. This project investigates three distinct public spaces--Centre Pompidou, Parc de Bercy and Parc de la Villette--serving different communities in this multicultural, tourist city. It seeks to understand these public spaces at the scale of the city, the scale of the neighborhood, and the scale of the individual. Through sections, diagrams, drawings and photographs the occupation of the space and its use are connected to form and design in an effort to discover what makes community possible and how design may play an active role in mixing people.
Presenter #3: Marina Michael, Architecture
The Anglo-Indian Bungalow: Small Scale Complications of the British Empire
Key Words: bungalow, colonialism, identity, gender
Abstract: No one leaves a colonial encounter unchanged. This sentiment is demonstrated by issues surrounding the Anglo-Indian bungalow. I use this building typology as an entry point through which to problematize power dynamics between British and Indian colonial entities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By focusing on the domestic sphere, where the British and Indians had daily and personal interactions, it provides us the opportunity to view the colonial subject as an active participant in imperial culture, thus doing away with overt notions of top down subjugation and texturizing the agency of all parties involved in the colonial enterprise. This discussion includes the experiences of both British and Indian women and children, people who have been noticeably absent from the traditional colonial narrative. By weaving together architectural precedents from both Indian and British culture I demonstrate how frequent changes to the bungalow form by the British demonstrate their anxieties of empire, highlight the tensions of interacting with the local population as well as the worry of British identity loss. These issues can be seen through primary literature concerning both the state of the British home and empire, as well as through increasing adaptations to the bungalow form, which work to enclose and isolate it from the Indian environment. My analysis combines methodologies from social and architectural history to provide a study of the intricacies of colonial power dynamics, as well as provide a convincing argument that the bungalow should be considered an idea rather than a structural form.
Presenter #4: Olivia Houck, Architecture
Vector Field-Milton Airfield Surveillance
Key Words: data based-design, micro-scale, landscape simulation, plant patterns, surface drainage
Abstract: Surveillance is understood as a constant approach to site observation, rule making and tool intervention, which challenges the traditional way with separate design steps. The thesis of the project is choreographing human movements makes the distribution of emergent plants as well as the organization of surface water over a site. Algorithm is applied to arrange design sequence in an input-output system, which was interweaved with big data and multi-variables. By controlling the inputs, outputs would be produced through analytical simulation. In the abandoned Milton Airfield, human movements are taken as the dominant vector forces, which are categorized as radio aircraft, footstep, mower and buggy. Each of them has different compaction on the ground and leads to the specific micro-typographies. Also, spontaneous grasses response and appear differently due to compaction levels. The Surveillance Network is built to collect data of ground conditions through analogue devices and digital devices. A simulation model of ground conditions is made with supporting data. Three tools, "Soft Edge", "Retention Basin" and "Filter Berm" are created as the direct design interventions to rearrange the field.
Presenter #5: Chunyao Xu, Architecture
Live in a sponge
Key Words: reponsive, redundance, porousity, morphogenetic
Abstract: The design research aims to rethink contemporary architectural elements and sustainable design under digital age and today's complex environment. After the study of the bio-mimicry and development of computational design, an architectural design will be approached by studying the evolution process and biological structure of sponge and its colony - a porous living creature with internal skeleton or framework, occurring in large, sessile colonies under the sea. Using method of bio-mimicry and building mathematic model for its environmentally sensitive growth, the ecological relationship between sponge and the living environment will be fully studied and applied to building in a morphogenetic approach.
Presenter #6: Zhifei Cheng, Architecture
Adaptive Vernacular in Urban Context
Key Words: adaptability, vernacular, technology, urban
Abstract: "Adaptability" is a term worth discussing in today's constantly changing world. It pays close attention to the relationship between subject and object while maximizing the efficiency with limited resources and time. This research starts to look at adaptation in architecture, which has been happening in different scales and scopes throughout history and culture. By categorizing four types of design adaptability (namely: vernacular architecture, 1960s radical architecture, adaptive reuse of historic buildings and interactive architecture) and mapping out their associated outcomes and reasons of success/failure, a redesign of vernacular is chosen to present an opportunity of embedding current technology to design for adaptability in today's urban context. In this design, a set of interactive architecture systems of different scales, either flexible or modular, are applied to the skeleton of a traditional Chinese wooden frame architecture, and the outcome is to foresee not only a new identity for the vernacular, but also a positive attitude toward the feasibility of adaptive design in contemporary architecture.
Presenter #7: Yimeng Teng, Architecture
Morning Poster Presentations, 9:30-11:30 am, Newcomb Ballroom
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
The Effect of the Natural Environment on Post-discharge Depression and PTSD for ICU survivors
Key Words: Nature, Depression, PTSD, ICU survivors
Abstract: Background: Over five-million patients in the United States require treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) annually. Research is increasingly focused on the cognitive function, mental health and quality of life for ICU survivors. Many former ICU patients describe symptoms of PTSD and depression after hospital discharge. Interventions to prevent psychological distress in ICU survivors are lacking. Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the effect of a therapeutic natural environment on post-discharge mental health. Additionally, the author wishes to identify if there is a practical and effective natural environment intervention in the acute care setting that can be used to reduce depression, anxiety, and PTSD in ICU survivors. Methods: Eligible studies were identified by searching online databases using the following MeSH terms and keywords: ("natural environment" OR "nature" OR "garden") AND ("depression" OR "PTSD" OR "anxiety" OR "mental health"). Applying selection criteria resulted in 16 studies used for synthesis. Results: The systematic analysis of the reviewed studies demonstrates a beneficial effect of the natural environment on anxiety, depression, PTSD, pain, and physiologic markers for stress. This finding is consistent among the observed groups of participants, independent of the location of the intervention, or whether the intervention was real or simulated. Conclusions: The demonstrated beneficial therapeutic effects of the natural environment on psychological well-being suggests that it would be a reasonable intervention to consider in the acute care setting to help create surroundings that calm patients and reduce depression, anxiety, and PTSD following discharge.
Presenter #1: Beth Hundt, Nursing
Intimate Partner Violence and Traumatic Brain Injury: The Missing Diagnosis
Key Words: intimate partner violence, traumatic brain injury
Abstract: Based on a review of literature, little research exists on the overlapping symptoms of IPV and traumatic brain injury or on ways to prevent TBI from occurring with abuse. The limited research does show that survivors of IPV show symptoms of TBI such as dizziness, headaches, and memory loss as well as symptoms of PTSD and post concussive syndrome. Without proper screening and testing these women are not receiving adequate treatment either for the TBI or for the abuse. In order to change this, an interdisciplinary effort is needed between all members of treatment teams and community resources. TBI specialists and providers need to work with community groups such as shelters and advocacy groups to create screening tools for IPV victims to guide treatment decisions related to TBI. Similarly, community resources such as women's shelters can provide resources for survivors of TBI on abuse prevention and safety planning. Creating these lines of communication will allow for improved quality of life for survivors of IPV with a TBI as well as research opportunities for clinical interventions to enhance treatments. Nursing is perfectly placed to act as a liaison and as an advocate for survivors of both IPV and TBI.
Presenter #2: Amanda St Ivany, Nursing
Do cotinine values vary during pregnancy?
Key Words: smoking, cotinine, pregnancy
Abstract: Introduction: Tobacco use during pregnancy can lead to detrimental effects to both maternal and child health. Cotinine, one of the metabolites of nicotine, is used for a smoking biomarker among pregnant smokers. Pregnant women's cotinine variance still remains unclear. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare cotinine in saliva in a cohort of pregnant women who reported smoking the same amount of cigarettes between first and third trimesters of pregnancy. Methods: This study was secondary data analysis using the data of the Baby BEEP (Behavioral Education Enhancement of Pregnancy) project for testing the effect of a nurse-delivered telephone individualized social support and mailed prenatal smoking cessation booklets on smoking cessation among rural and low-income pregnant women between 2002 and 2005. Results: The number of the participants who smoked one to ten cigarettes was 23 and 11 to 20 was 24. There was no statistical difference in cotinine between the first and third trimesters in both groups. But the mean cotinine decreased 3.11 in the one to ten cigarette group and decreased 27.80 in the 11 to 20 cigarette group. Discussion: Findings of this study indicates that although smoking pregnant women smoked the same amount, their cotinine in saliva varied as pregnancy progresses. This suggests that cotinine values among pregnant women may not exactly reflect the amount of cigarettes they smoked or smoking exposure. This study provided more support of cotinine variation during pregnancy. Randomized controlled trials may be needed to yield more evidence about cotinine fluctuation during pregnancy.
Presenter #3: Joshua Gwon, Nursing
Developing a computational model of Neuregulin induced proliferation signaling in cardiac myocytes
Key Words: Neuregulin, cardiac proliferation, computational biology,
Abstract: Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in the world and one of the main causes of heart failure post injury is the heart's limited regenerative capacity. Mammalian hearts undergo a complex remodeling process post injury that replaces the necrotic region with non-contractile scar tissue instead of functional CMs. Genetic fate mapping studies in neonatal mammalian hearts have identified preexisting cardiomyocytes (CMs) as the primary source for newly formed CMs in regenerated tissues. While endogenous CM proliferation rates are low, targeting signaling mechanisms that regulate cell cycle progression can enhance CM regeneration. While FGF-2, Hippo, IGF, Neuregulin (Nrg), periostin, PDGF, and TWEAK signaling have been individually implicated in influencing CM proliferation, it is still unknown how these and yet to be undiscovered players interact to regulate the regenerative process. Comprehensive analysis of the complex network requires computational methods to efficiently predict key hubs and generate more focused hypothesis-driven experiments to identify novel synergies. Here we have developed a computational model of Nrg-induced proliferation signaling in neonatal CMs. The model predictions are experimentally validated using our high-throughput microscopy-based proliferation assay. The assay combines automated fluorescence imaging and image processing techniques to efficiently quantify the proportion of cells expressing proliferation markers such as Ki67 and BrdU. Our preliminary model-based study of Neuregulin signaling reveals a synergistic relationship between Nrg and p38 inhibition to enhance proliferation consistent with a previous study published by Dr. Mark Keating's group.
Presenter #4: Laua Woo, Biomedical Engineering
Investigating a Role for JAK/STAT Cytokine Signaling in Mushroom Body Neuroblast Apoptosis
Key Words: Stem cell niche, neuroblasts, JAK/STAT signaling, programmed cell death
Abstract: Mushroom body neuroblasts (MB NBs) generate neurons important for memory and learning, and persist late into pupal stages of development. Prior to eclosion, MB NBs are eliminated by programmed cell death. It remains unclear whether extrinsic factors, either local or systemic, control timing of MB NB cell death. We are investigating whether MB NBs like other stem cells may reside within a unique microenvironment, or niche, that provides trophic support and shields stem cells from deleterious growth factors or other cytokines in the extracellular environment. Because little is known about either the cellular or molecular composition of the NB stem cell niche, we are exploring candidate stem cell niche regulators from other systems. Here we show that during development, MB NBs and their recently born progeny are ensheathed by glial cells that have elevated levels of JAK/STAT cytokine signaling activity. In addition, we show that Unpaired (Upd), the ligand for JAK/STAT activation, is expressed in neurons generated by the MB NBs themselves. Could MB neurons act like the "hub" from the male germline to regulate JAK/STAT signaling in glial cells and support MB NB proliferation? We propose that ensheathing glia and MB neurons are two cell types that may constitute the MB NB niche and are further investigating a role for JAK/STAT activity in regulation MB NB apoptosis.
Presenter #5: Xin Yuan, Biology
Diet Influences Lysosomal Lipase Expression in Canonical Nutrient Response Pathways
Key Words: fat, genes, autophagy, diet
Abstract: Through a screen in C. elegans, and studies in mouse models of fasting, we identified the transcription factors MXL-3 and HLH-30 (O'Rourke, Nature 2013), and the lipases LIPL-1 through LIPL-5, as playing an essential role in lipophagy (the breakdown of fat through autophagy). However, the interaction of these genes with the established nutrient utilization gene network is currently unknown. In order to connect mxl-3, hlh-30, and the lysosomal lipases to known nutrient sensing pathways, C. elegans models of caloric restriction, sterility, diabetes, and other well-characterized pathways were fed different diets (OP50, HT115, or HB101) and gene expression was tested by qPCR. Here we show that LIPL-1 to 5 and their regulatory transcription factors MXL-3 and HLH-30 are indeed differentially expressed in response to different diets and they are downstream of several known nutrient sensing pathways. We show that lipl gene expression exhibits a temporal biphasic response to fasting which may be true in other models. lipl genes are also differentially expressed in animals with dysfunctional mitochondria and deficient insulin signaling. These novel data suggest the lipl genes, and therefore lipophagy, are linked to the quantity and quality of the food through multiple genetic pathways.
Presenter #6: Adam Huckaby, Biology
Determining the Localization of Chitin Synthase in D. melanogaster
Key Words: tissue, development, protein, localization, chitin synthase
Abstract: The exoskeleton of insects and other arthropods provides a variety of functions including isolating the animal from the environment and mechanical support while allowing for external stimuli to be sensed. Insect cuticle varies in terms of its physical properties and is comprised primarily of chitin and proteins supplemented with lipids, water, and minerals. Chitin, a polymer synthesized by chitin synthase (CS), is an important element in the exoskeleton, and it is found as stiff fibers embedded in a matrix of protein. During insect development, one of the two copies of CS is expressed in the epidermal tissue during cuticle formation. The CS enzyme involved in the epidermal tissue of D. melanogaster is encoded by the gene krotzkof verkehrt (kkv). kkv mutants die as late embryos as they cannot form a functional cuticle. The cuticle detaches from the apical surface of the epidermal cells and then dilates resulting in a curved, short embryo with a scrambled head that is unable to hatch. In the adult, mutant clones are not pigmented and the resulting cuticle is weak often leaking hemolymph. Besides proper kkv function, CS also has to be localized to the right spot in the cell to synthesize chitin. There are currently two hypotheses as to how that may occur: 1) CS rests on the apical membrane and secrets chitin into the ECM, or 2) CS is carried around in vesicles termed chitosomes, which localize kkv to the right region while chitin synthesis is initiated inside. Upon proper localization, chitin is released.
Presenter #7: Waheeda Naimi, Biology
Cooperation of α-synuclein and tau in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Key Words: α-synuclein, tau, neurodegenerative diseases
Abstract: α-synuclein and tau histopathology often co-occur in the brains of those afflicted by neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Despite the plethora of research reporting their synergistic relationship, it is unknown if both α-synuclein and tau pathologies are required for disease progression and neuronal death. Importantly, virtually no studies in Alzheimer's disease models have carefully investigated the necessity of α-synuclein for disease progression. Therefore, using mouse-derived cortical neuronal cultures, treated with toxic β-amyloid oligomers (AβOs) for 24 hours as a model of Alzheimer's, we tested what early disease phenotypes, if any, were dependent on α-synuclein. We report that AβOs increase the expression of α-synuclein, but only when endogenous tau is available. Furthermore, endogenous α-synuclein is necessary for the ectopic neuronal cell cycle re-entry that often precedes neuron death. In contrast, phosphorylation of tau at serine 416, an early signs of tau pathology, is prevented by RNAi reduction of α-synuclein. Interestingly, over-expression of human disease variants of α-synuclein increased the propensity of cultured neurons to re-enter the cell cycle, and also elevated the phosphorylation of tau at serine 262 and 409, independent of AβO treatment. Taken together, these results indicate that α-synuclein and tau cooperate to promote neuronal dysfunction. Targeting this cooperation presents a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative diseases that share α-synuclein and tau pathology.
Presenter #8: Shehzad Thomas, Biomedical Sciences
Quantitative genetic architecture of a sexually dimorphic visual signal
Key Words: evolution, lizards, quantitative genetics, genetic correlations, dewlaps
Abstract: Trait diversity results from different selective pressures across species, within populations, and between sexes. The genetic architecture of traits, however, may constrain their evolutionary trajectories. Traits can only evolve if they are heritable. Furthermore, genetic correlations between sexes may constrain independent evolution of the sexes. We quantified the heritability and between-sex genetic correlation of a sexually dimorphic signal, the dewlap. Dewlaps are throat fans used in visual communication by Anolis lizards to defend territories, attract mates, and warn predators. We used a breeding colony of the brown anole (Anolis sagrei) to measure heritabilities of male dewlap traits and genetic correlations in dewlap size between sexes. To quantify color traits of male dewlaps, we measured the reflectance of male dewlaps (n=185) over the ultaviolet and visible spectra (300-700nm) with a spectrometer. We then calculated heritabilites for brightness, UV chroma, red chroma, and hue. UV chroma and red chroma were significantly heritable traits (h2=0.468,0.469) and may therefore respond to selection. By contrast, brightness and hue were not heritable traits and are not expected to respond to selection. We also calculated between-sex genetic correlations in dewlap size, using male (n=190) and female (n=200) dewlap areas measured from photographs in ImageJ. The between-sex genetic correlation (rmf) in dewlap size was 0.65. Because rmf < 1, dewlap sizes of males and females may respond independently to sex-specific selective pressures. However, because rmf > 0, sex-specific evolution of dewlap size may still be constrained. The genetic architecture of dewlap traits defines and constrains possible evolutionary trajectories of the dewlap.
Presenter #9: Robin Costello, Biology
Physical Sciences and Math
Neisserial Opa Protein Conformational Dynamics and Mechanism of Interaction with Host CEACAM Receptors
Key Words: Opa proteins, CEACAM, EPR
Abstract: Human pathogens Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitides are unique in their utilization of opacity-associated (Opa) proteins to mediate bacterial uptake into non-phagocytic cells. Opa proteins engage either heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) receptors or carcinoembryonic antigen-related cellular adhesion molecules (CEACAMs) to hijack host cellular mechanisms, which induces bacterial engulfment. The Opa family of proteins are eight stranded β-barrels with four extracellular loops. Regions in loops two and three contain hypervariable sequences among Opa variants and dictate receptor specificity. We aim to reveal the structural determinants of Opa-receptor interactions. Overall loop dynamics of Opa60, a CEACAM-binding Opa variant, were determined using CW-EPR and combined with the limited NMR relaxation data. Results indicate that the loops and hypervariable regions are highly mobile on the nanosecond timescale. Preliminary DEER experiments provide distance measurements between Opa60 and CEACAM in the complex and preliminary models will be presented. Elucidating the mechanism of interaction between Opa and CEACAM will provide an understanding of the molecular determinants behind the entry of a foreign body into non-phagocytic cells.
Presenter #10:Marissa Kieber, Chemistry
Resource use of an aquacultured oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in Bahía San Quintín
Key Words: Stable Isotopes, Shellfish Aquaculture, Bayesian mixing model, Carbon, Hydrogen
Abstract: Shellfish aquaculture is prominent in many coastal and estuarine environments, having both ecological and economic effects. Bahía San Quintín is a reverse estuary in Baja California, Mexico where Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) are cultivated. While oysters likely feed heavily on phytoplankton especially during upwelling periods, we hypothesized that other forms of organic matter such as seagrass (Zostera marina) and macroalgae (Ulva spp.) are used by the oysters, especially in the most inshore portions of the bay. We measured the carbon and hydrogen stable isotope composition of oysters and their potential food resources and applied a Bayesian mixing model to evaluate resource use. Although we did not find any strong seasonal effects due to upwelling, there was a strong spatial gradient in resource use. Phytoplankton were most important at a lower (oceanic) site (median resource use for two sampling times: 68 and 79%) and decreased up the estuary as macroalgae became more important (44 and 56%). At all sites for both sampling times seagrass was a minimal resource (3-7%) for oysters. The gradient of high phytoplankton use at the lower site to increased macroalgal use at the upper site is likely due to resource availability in the bay. Results indicate the adaptability of oysters to varying resource availability and the possibility of a higher system carrying capacity given multiple potential food sources.
Presenter #11: Kyle Emery, Environmental Sciences
Environments around Supermassive Black Holes: Measuring Quasar-Galaxy Correlations
Key Words: black holes, galaxy evolution, quasars
Abstract: Little is known about the environments of high redshift quasars, particularly those obscured by dust. Previous work suggests that dust-shrouded (type 2) quasars are at least as common as un-obscured optical (type 1) quasars; therefore, in order to fully understand the role quasars play in the evolutionary history of the universe, we must understand both types of objects. This project seeks to explore the environments in which obscured quasars form. In this poster, we present mid-infrared clustering measurements for a sample of 45 quasars with 1.3 < z < 2.5, a redshift range that is unexplored in the literature. The objects were selected using IRAC multi-color criteria to remove low-redshift starburst and quiescent galaxies, and subsequently had spectroscopy carried out to both obtain redshifts, and to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 quasars; the high-redshift sample presented in this paper is roughly evenly distributed between the two types. We use the SERVS galaxy catalogs to estimate the cross-correlation between each quasar and its surrounding galaxies. The amplitude of this function gives us the richness of the environments in which these quasars are found.
Presenter #12: Kristen Jones, Astronomy
Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Relationship between Academic Self-Concept and Achievement in High School and Risky Sexual Behavior in College-Aged Females Over Time
Key Words: risky sexual behavior, achievement, self-concept, adolescence
Abstract: Using data from the Michigan Study of Adolescent Life Transitions (N=744), this study examines the connection between academic self-concept, academic achievement and risky sexual behavior in college-aged females over time. The current study investigated three hypotheses: 1) academic achievement at Time 1 will be negatively related to risky sexual behavior Time 2, 2) academic self-concept at Time 1 will be negatively related to risky sexual behavior at Time 2, and 3) academic self-concept will moderate the relationship between academic achievement and risky sexual behavior. The association between academic self-concept, achievement, and risky sexual behavior was tested using a hierarchical regression, controlling for student socioeconomic status and grade level. Risky sexual behavior was measured with three scales: frequency of having unprotected sex, risky sexual behaviors and attitudes and using protection during sexual intercourse. Academic self-concept was assessed via academic ability self-concept and academic dissatisfaction. Results indicated that academic achievement and self-concept were linked to certain risky sexual outcomes. Moreover, a significant interaction between academic dissatisfaction, academic performance, and sexual behaviors and attitudes was found. Implications for the importance of studying these aspects in late adolescent females are discussed.
Presenter #13: Audrey Wittrup, Psychology
Do People Enjoy Thinking?
Key Words: thinking, social cognition, mind-wandering, daydreaming
Abstract: Do people enjoy thinking? Up to half our lives consists of internally-focused thought, and the ability to occupy yourself solely by thinking could potentially reduce stress and increase well-being. However, studies in the lab suggest that many people do not enjoy intentional thinking and may prefer even negative external stimulation (e.g., electric shock) to being alone with their thoughts. Do people deliberately entertain themselves with their thoughts in everyday life and if so, do they enjoy it? In an experience sampling study, 170 undergraduates responded to texts on their smartphone four times a day for one week. Participants categorized their thoughts and rated them on a variety of dimensions, including attention to the external world, whether they wanted to be having that thought, intentionality, and mood. On average people experienced intentional reverie (i.e., chose to entertain themselves with their thoughts) 7.9% of the time. Although people do intentionally engage in enjoyable thinking in everyday life, such thought may make up only a minority of conscious mental activity. Notably, people enjoyed such thoughts more when they occurred spontaneously than when they chose to have them. Intentional reverie may be rare not because it is unpleasant, but because it is difficult. Deliberately occupying yourself solely by thinking may require a mix of appropriate circumstances and available mental resources that is hard to come by.
Presenter #14: Erin Westgate, Psychology
Afternoon Poster Presentations, 1:15pm - 3:15 pm, Newcomb Ballroom
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Poster Presentations
Lipid Binding by Osh4p, an OSBP homologue, is Required for Polarized Exocytosis
Key Words: lipids, exocytosis, yeast
Abstract: Polarized exocytosis is an essential cellular process required for diverse events such as polarized cell growth and secretion, and cell migration. The seven-member Osh protein family, the S. cerevisiae homologues of the mammalian oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP) family, is required for polarized exocytosis (Alfaro et al., Traffic, 2011). Within the Osh protein family, Osh4p (Kes1p) is known to bind and transfer specific lipid species between membranes in vitro, however whether lipid binding and transfer by Osh4p is an essential activity in vivo has remained elusive (de St. Jean et al., JCB, 2012; Georgiev et al., Traffic, 2011). Two questions regarding Osh4p function are whether Osh4p regulates non-polarized exocytosis in addition to polarized exocytosis and whether lipid binding by Osh4p regulates its role in polarized exocytosis. First, we show data excluding a role for Osh4p in non-polarized exocytosis as marked by invertase secretion. Further we show that the dominant lethality of the osh4-Y97F allele, which encodes a sterol binding null Osh4p, is dependent on the ability of Osh4p to bind phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P) and that Osh4p must be able to bind both sterols and PI4P for polarized exocytosis, marked by Bgl2p, to occur. These studies show that Osh4p is dependent on its lipid binding activity to function in polarized exocytosis, with PI4P serving as a positive regulator of Osh4p function. These results suggest that other Osh or OSBP family members will be shown to regulate polarized exocytosis or other membrane-membrane contact sites in a lipid dependent manner.
Presenter #1: Rich Smindak, Biology
Inference of Network Dynamics and Metabolic Interactions in the Gut Microbiome
Key Words: Microbiome, networks, metabolism, computational
Abstract: We present a novel methodology to construct a Boolean dynamic model from time series metagenomic information, and integrate this modeling with genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions to identify metabolic underpinnings for microbial interactions. We apply this in the context of a critical health issue: clindamycin antibiotic treatment and opportunistic C. difficile infection. Our model recapitulates known dynamics of clindamycin antibiotic treatment and C. difficile infection and predicts therapeutic probiotic interventions to suppress C. difficile infection. Genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions reveal metabolic differences between community members, and are used to explore the role of metabolism in the observed microbial interactions. In vitro experimental data validate a key result of our computational model, that B. intestinihominis can in fact slow C. difficile growth.
Presenter #2: Matthew Biggs, Biomedical Engineering
Reduced Field-of-view Single-shot Spiral Perfusion Imaging
Key Words: Cardiac perfusion, reduced field-of-view, magentic resonance imaging
Abstract: Contrast-enhanced first-pass myocardial perfusion is a promising modality for the noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD). We have introduced a single-shot spiral first-pass perfusion imaging pulse sequence capable of whole heart coverage with a temporal foot-print of 8ms per slice, but the technique required 12 fold acceleration to support the usual 340-360mm field-of-view (FOV) needed for clinical imaging. Although the heart only occupies a small fraction of the chest, the k-space trajectory must support a FOV which covers the entire spatial extent of the received signal from the chest to avoid spatial aliasing. Thus, if the region of interest is the heart, sampling the signal from the whole chest is very inefficient. A reduced FOV (rFOV) single-shot spiral perfusion technique would require a lower k-space undersampling factor resulting in reduced spatial aliasing, improved SNR and more robust reconstruction. Thus, the goal of this study was to develop an OVS design suitable for a single-shot spiral perfusion sequence to achieve whole heart coverage with high spatial/temporal resolution. Resting first-pass perfusion was performed in 8 subjects who were undergoing clinically ordered CMR studies with contrast on a 1.5T Avanto Siemens scanner. 2 subjects were scanned using FOV 340mm with highly accelerated spirals (12x Nyq) and 6 subjects of FOV 170mm with moderately accelerated spirals (6x Nyq) to maintain the same spatial resolution of 2mm.
Presenter #3: Yang Yang, Biomedical Engineering
Characterization of two novel fimbrial loci in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7
Key Words: EHEC, Fimbriae
Abstract: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) is a deadly food-borne pathogen. One trait common to most bacterial pathogens is the use of fimbriae to mediate host tissue attachment and facilitate binding between pathogens and the host. EHEC encodes 16 fimbrial operons; however, very little is known about their function and contribution to EHEC pathogenesis due to difficulties finding conditions which express fimbriae. Our lab recently showed that ethanolamine (EA) is a signaling molecule that induces the expression of 15 fimbrial loci in EHEC. We have recently shown that two of the most highly expressed fimbrial loci in EHEC are important for colonization in a murine model of EHEC infection. We renamed the two EA-regulated fimbriae Erf1 and Erf2. The goal of this project is to explore the function of Erf1 and Erf2 in EHEC and how these fimbriae influence EHEC disease. To better understand how EHEC fimbriae contribute to pathogenesis, we are investigating the organization and regulation of erf1 and erf2. We are currently assessing the organization of erf1 and erf2 by determining the transcription start sites and promoter regions through biochemical assays. To further determine the regulation of erf1 and erf2 we are investigating the interaction of each fimbrial locus with the two global regulators. We are also determining the function of Erf1 and Erf2 by studying how these fimbriae influence adherence to host tissues and the surface structures that each locus encodes. This study provides insights into the organization, regulation, and function of two fimbrial loci in EHEC.
Presenter #4: Debi Luzader, Biomedical Sciences
Targeting Malaria Achilles' Heel: Uncovering Mechanisms for Initiating and Transmitting Resistance
Key Words: Parasitology, Plasmodium falciparium, Malaria, and Resistance
Abstract: Plasmodium falciparum is the most fatal human malaria parasite and due to rampant antimalarial resistance, is the cause of approximately 1 million deaths annually. It is critical to understand how the parasite develops resistance so we can better treat and potentially eradicate malaria. Upon selection for resistance to a novel antimalarial DSM1, the malaria parasite amplifies regions in its genome surrounding its target dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH). By increasing the copy number of the target gene in units termed "amplicons", the parasite can now introduce mutations without biochemical penalties and increase the number of protein targets in the cell to enhance survival. Little is known about how these genetic alterations arise and are propagated to confer enhanced parasite drug resistance. Investigations into the nature of DHODH amplicons lead to the hypothesis that other DNA species, perhaps extra-chromosomal copies of the amplicon, were contributing to high levels of resistance. Because these species may contribute to the rapid transmission of resistance, as has been observed in cancers and other infectious diseases, we are also interested in investigating whether they have a role in propagating antimalarial resistance. Following the recent discovery of a role for exosomes in resistance transmission during in vitro culture of P. falciparum, it is conceivable that DHODH amplicons could be passed via this route in our DSM1 resistance model. Extending what we learn using this in vitro resistance model to general antimalarial resistance could aid in the development of new treatment regimens. Healthcare costs and malaria mortality will continue to rise until we can hinder resistance in the parasite, perhaps by preventing transmission of resistance-conferring amplicons from parasite to parasite.
Presenter #5: Jennifer McDaniels, Biology
Interactions of liposomal Opa proteins with human cell surface CEACAM receptors
Key Words: Liposomes, drug delivery, endocytosis, cell receptors
Abstract: Opacity-associated (Opa) proteins are β-barrel membrane proteins found on the surfaces of pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis. These membrane proteins interact with specific human carcinoembryonic antigen-like cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) receptors in order to induce bacterial phagocytosis into human host cells. Importantly, bacterial phagocytosis can even be induced in typically non-phagocytic cells, such as HeLa cells transfected to express CEACAM receptors. Opa variants interact with one or more members of the CEACAM family: CEACAM1, CEACAM3, CEACAM5, and CEACAM6, which are expressed on different tissue types and coordinate different signaling events during the phagocytic process. Using fluorescence microscopy, we aim to determine whether Opa proteins folded in liposomes can bind with CEACAM receptors on the surface of transfected HeLa cells as well as determine the fate of liposomes upon CEACAM-dependent cell surface interactions. The use of liposomes as membrane mimics enables us to study cellular Opa-CEACAM binding by bridging traditional biochemical and biophysical methods performed in liposomes or detergent micelles. The results indicate that Opa-proteoliposomes bind to CEACAM1 receptors on the surface of transfected HeLa cells. In addition, preliminary data suggest that Opa-proteoliposomes are engulfed into CEACAM1-transfected HeLa cells. These experiments support the hypothesis that liposomes can stabilize folded Opa proteins and retain cellular CEACAM binding.
Presenter #6: Jason Kuhn, Chemistry
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Poster Presentations 2
1:15-3:15 pm, Newcomb Ballroom
Using protein micropatterns to determine the role of dynamin2 in F-actin remodeling
Key Words: actin cytoskeleton, F-actin remodeling, dynamin, lamellipodia, actomyosin, leading edge
Abstract: Maintaining cytoskeletal coherence is crucial for single cells and in the context of a multicellular organism. Although different components of the cytoskeleton have been extensively studied, we still do not fully appreciate how they act in concert to orchestrate the cytoskeleton as a whole. The subject of this study, the large GTPase dynamin2 (dyn2), is an emerging cytoskeletal regulator. Using the leading edge of the migrating cell as a model for F-actin remodeling, we previously identified dyn2 as an organizer of branched F-actin networks in lamellipodia and contractile actomyosin bundles in lamella. However, the mechanism of dyn2-dependent F-actin remodeling is still not clear. We hypothesized that dyn2 remodels lamellipodial F-actin to organize lamellar actomyosin bundles. This study focuses on testing this hypothesis in vivo and in vitro using protein micropatterning technique. Protein micropatterning (Reymann et al., 2012) involves direct printing of a protein onto a glass surface. We used this technique to, first, define cellular size and shape in our in vivo experiments and, second, geometrically control F-actin assembly in our in vitro experiments. Using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we determined that dyn2 affects distribution of F-actin cross-linker, alpha-actinin, in lamellipodia of U2-OS cells. This finding provides evidence for dyn2-dependent F-actin remodeling in lamellipodia. Experiments with directed F-actin assembly in vitro will allow us to test the idea that dyn2 controls actomyosin assembly.
Presenter #7: Olga Askinazi, Biology
Identification and Characterization of Thermotoga maritima Hfq Protein Binding Partners
Key Words: Host factor for bacteriophage Qβ (Hfq), Oligoribonuclease (Orn), NanoRNAs, Co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP)
Abstract: The host factor for bacteriophage Qβ (Hfq) is the bacterial branch of Sm family proteins which are involved in RNA metabolism. In bacteria, Hfq acts a global post-transcriptional regulator, affecting the stability and translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) by facilitating the annealing between small regulatory RNAs (sRNA) and their target mRNAs. Hfq has also been linked to proteins involved in general cellular RNA metabolism (RNA synthesis and degradation). An Hfq homolog is present in Thermotoga maritima (Tma), an early-branching anaerobic thermophile. In previous work, a navel class of nanoRNAs (~5-6 nts) was found to co-purify with recombinant Tma Hfq expressed in Escherichia coli. NanoRNAs are regulated by oligoribonuclease (Orn), and a putative homolog of this enzyme can be detected in Tma based on sequence similarity. We have successfully cloned, expressed and purified the recombinant Tma Orn in E.coli. We are investigating the putative function of Tma Orn and potential interactions between Tma Hfq and nanoRNA degradation pathways. Additionally, we are attempting to isolate endogenous Tma Hfq protein binding partners using Co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP) and using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. By providing a map of Tma Hfq in vivo interactions, this work will lay a foundation for understanding the roles of Hfq as a global ribo-regulator.
Presenter #8: Thushani Nilaweera, Chemistry
Enrichment and Identification of MHC-Associated Phosphopeptides Expressed in Hepatocellular Carcinoma for the Development of Novel Cancer Immunotherapeutics
Key Words: Cancer, Immunology, Phosphorylation, Enrichment, Immunotheraphy
Abstract: In 2015 alone, the American Cancer Society estimates approximately 1.6 million incidences of cancer will occur. Although much effort has been put towards developing new methods of treatment, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the U.S. Cancer and the immune system are closely intertwined, with the immune system employing a method of surveillance to assess cell health - the MHC class I processing pathway. In the cell, proteins are degraded by the proteasome into peptides. These peptides are transported into the endoplasmic reticulum and loaded onto MHC class I molecules. Stable complexes are then shuttled to the cell surface for display. In healthy individuals, circulating cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) interact with these MHC:peptide complexes and when presented with a peptide recognized as antigenic, they eliminate the infected cell. One origin of antigenic peptides is post-translationally modified proteins, the most common modification being phosphorylation, a key player in cell signaling. In cancer, cell signaling becomes dysregulated, leading to markedly increased, aberrant phosphorylation. Aberrantly phosphorylated proteins are degraded by the proteasome, resulting in a population of cancer-specific phosphopeptides. These phosphopeptides enter the MHC class I processing pathway and can be recognized by CTLs as antigenic. Our efforts involve the use of immobilized metal affinity chromatography to enrich for cancer-specific phosphopeptides from resected human tumors from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. These phosphopeptides, derived from dysregulated cell signaling events, represent excellent candidates for the development of novel cancer immunotherapeutics which harness an individual's own immune system to target and eliminate cancer.
Presenter #9: Paisley Trantham, Chemistry
Phenotypic characterization of Urocortin 3 in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus
Key Words: hypothalamus, brain, feeding, stress
Abstract: Urocortin 3 (Ucn 3) is a member of the corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) neuropeptide family implicated in feeding, the stress response, and sympathetic outflow. Ucn 3 nerve fibers from neurons in the anterior parvicellular part of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVHap) innervate the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH), an area known for its role in satiety and sympathetic modulation. In the present study, anatomical features of the Ucn 3 cells in the PVH area were characterized to explore their functional role. Transgenic mice with Cre recombinase (cre) expressed in Ucn 3-positive cells (Ucn 3-cre) crossed with reporter mice with mCherry fluorescence were used to visualize the distribution of Ucn 3 in the mouse brains. To characterize the Ucn 3 cells in the PVH, brain sections of Ucn3-cre-mCherry mice were labeled for CRF, vasopressin, and oxytocin. Scant co-localization among Ucn 3, indicated by mCherry fluorescence, and these neurotransmitters was seen; Ucn 3 cells thus appear to constitute a sub-population of PVH neurons. To define projections of Ucn 3 cells from the PVHap, a cre-regulated anterograde tracing viral vector that expresses channelrhodopsin fused with mCherry was injected into the PVHap of Ucn 3-cre mice. mCherry-positive tracer fibers and terminals were located dorsomedial part of the VMH and the external zone of the median eminence, an area that releases peptides into the pituitary to influence the stress response and reproduction. The Ucn 3 PVH system appears to constitute a circuit that is separate from other well known neuropeptide regulators of energy homeostasis in the PVH.
Presenter #10: Christine van Hover, Biomedical Sciences
Motor Exit Point-Perineurial Glial Interactions are Essential During Motor Nerve Development
Key Words: axon, myelin, perineurial glia, motor exit point (MEP) glia, Schwann cells
Abstract: Spinal motor nerves are essential for relaying electrical impulses from the central nervous system (CNS) to peripheral targets. Coordinated cellular interactions between motor axons and their ensheathing glia, such as motor exit point (MEP) glia & perineurial glia (PG), are necessary for development and maintenance of peripheral motor nerves. During development, MEP glia and PG exit the CNS via MEPs and associate with the motor nerve. MEP glia myelinate large caliber axons at the motor root and PG bundle several myelinated axons into a nerve fascicle, eventually differentiating into a protective barrier. The role of neural crest derived myelinating Schwann cells has been studied using various vertebrate models. However, interactions between PG and MEP glia are poorly understood. Previous studies have shown that sox10 mutations perturbing peripheral myelinating glia results in PG and axonal defects, suggesting that PG require peripheral myelinating glia for proper development and differentiation. To investigate this relationship, we used erbb3 mutant zebrafish, which lack peripheral myelinating glial cells. Intriguingly, PG exit the spinal cord similarly to controls in erbb3 mutants; however, maturation was perturbed, supporting the hypothesis that PG require peripheral myelinating glial cells for proper development. Reciprocally, it's unknown if peripheral myelinating glia require PG for proper development and myelination. Thus, we are creating a novel transgenic zebrafish line allowing for temporal and conditional ablation of PG. For future experiments, PG will be perturbed and its impact on myelination will be investigated, further revealing intricate interactions occurring between peripheral glial cells during motor nerve assembly.
Presenter #11: Angie Morris, Neuroscience Graduate Program / Biology Department
Impacts of episodic acidification events on Brook trout in Shenandoah National Park
Key Words: fish, trout, acidification, climate change, biogeochemistry
Abstract: From 1996 to 2009, trends in Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) abundance in Shenandoah National Park (SNP) varied significantly by stream (n = 33 streams), with a strong correlation to the underlying stream bedrock. While the population within the park as a whole is considered to be stable, the inter-annual variability in both adult and young-of-the-year (YOY) abundance is high. Brook trout abundance is strongly linked to stream chemistry. However, applied analyses of stream chemistry to Brook trout studies have been widely limited to base flow data despite the acknowledgement that episodic events (i.e. acute acidification) are the main concern. Episodic events are triggered during periods of high streamflow from large rainfall events. Catchment runoff into the stream from large rainfall events results in rapid and dramatic changes in stream chemistry, such as lowering stream pH and acid neutralization capacity (ANC), increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and mobilizing aluminum (Al-). The number of high rainfall events for many areas of the Mid-Atlantic region have been increasing over the last 40 years. This trend is expected to continue with progressing climate change. Utilizing episodic stream chemistry and hydrologic data collected at three streams in SNP (1992-2014), coupled with fish collection data (1996-2013), we seek to evaluate the acute and cumulative effects of episodic events on Brook trout populations. Brook trout are an important resource for SNP and understanding the impacts of episodic events on their population dynamics is vital for conservation and resource management.
Presenter #12: Jeff Atkins, Environmental Sciences
Physical Sciences and Math Poster Presentations
Development of a Rhodium Catalyst for Single-Step Styrene Production
Key Words: catalysis, rhodium, styrene, hydroarylation
Abstract: The increasing global demand for fossil resources has prompted a renewed interest in new catalytic technologies that increase the efficiency of conversion of hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas to higher value materials. Thus, new processes that reduce steps, increase atom efficiency, reduce energy input and decrease the production of by-products have been highly sought. Achieving selective conversion of hydrocarbons is a particularly daunting challenge. Styrene is produced starting from benzene and ethylene on an annual of ~18.5 million tons. The new Rh catalyst (FlDAB)Rh(TFA)(η2-C2H4) [FlDAB = N,N'-bis(pentafluorophenyl)-2,
Presenter #13: Benjamin Vaughan, Chemistry
The Synthesis of 2-Substituted 1,2-Dihydronaphthalenes and 1,2-Dihydroanthracenes Using a Recyclable Molybdenum Dearomatization Agent
Key Words: Molybdenum, catalysis, small molecules, organometallic, dearomatization
Abstract: "Important derivatives synthesized from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (e.g., benzene, naphthalene, and anthracene) include the alicyclic family. These derivatives are often found as antimalarial and antitumor agents as well as topical analgesics. However, due to their innate stability, a characteristic of their aromatic nature, PAHs are difficult to modify. This obstacle can be overcome through the use of a pi-base (i.e., {TpW(NO)(PMe3)}) which donates electron density from the metal into the arene, disrupting aromaticity, and making the arene prone to derivatization. Through tandem electrophilic, nucleophilic additions and subsequent removal of the metal complex through oxidation, the isolation of novel small compounds is easily achieved. With the great success of these dearomatizing metals (i.e., {OsII(NH3)5}2+, {TpReI(PMe3)(CO)}+, and {TpW(PMe3)(NO)}), a major flaw is the need to use them in stochiometric amounts. For instance, when an oxidant is added in order to isolate the modified arene off of the metal, the resulting W(I) species is further oxidized to form an irrecoverable metal center. To address this issue, a molybdenum analogue {TpMo(NO)(L)}, allows for the use of iodine to enact a clean oxidative decomplexation, providing the free organic and returning the Mo(I) precursor used to prepare the initial η2-aromatic complex. This formal catalytic cycle allows for the clean isolation of novel small molecules derived from naphthalene and anthracene in moderate yields (~60%). In the case of 2 organics bearing ester functionality, iodolactonization was employed to isolate novel products containing three new stereocenters from an originally planar molecule."
Presenter #14: Jeffery Myers, Chemistry
Enantioenrichment of a Molybdenum Based Dearomatization Agent
Key Words: enantioenrichment, dearomatization, organometallic chemistry
Abstract: Dihapto-coordination of organic molecules to an electron rich metal center allows access to new patterns of reactivity for the synthesis of novel small molecules. These coordinated organic molecules react both regio- and stereo-selectively, allowing for a high degree of control for the derivitization of the coordinated organic substrate. The metal fragments currently employed for facilitating these transformations are chiral, however, they are synthesized as a racemic mixture, and therefore yield racemic products. Resolution of the racemic metal complex would allow for the isolation of resolved novel products, which is important for their consideration in biological systems. This work explores the coordination of the chiral terpene α-pinene as a general method of enantioenrichment of the Molybdenum based metal fragment. Coordination of the chiral ligand produces a single enantiopure metal complex, as the sterics of the pinene allow for the formation of a stable complex with only one hand of the racemic Mo fragment. This complex can then undergo exchange of the α-pinene ligand for a variety of other interesting ligands. However, during this exchange process the metal undergoes epimerization, resulting in a loss of the previously established resolution. Efforts are underway for the development of a new ligand set as a means to prevent the epimerization process. This new fragment is based on the coordination of two bidentate ligands, which would provide a more rigid ligand set within the proposed 5-coordinate intermediate, in which the epimerization process is thought to take place.
Presenter #15: Phil Shivokevich, Chemistry
Mechano luminescence and aggregation induced emission of bromine and methoxy substituted naphthyl conjugated β-diketonate compounds
Key Words: metal free high contrast mechanochromic luminescence, aggregation induced emission,
Abstract: The change in emission wavelength of a fluorophore in response to a mechanical stimulus is referred to as mechanochromic luminescence (ML). ML materials are responsive materials with diverse properties that are suitable for applications ranging from luminescence switches and mechanosensors, to optoelectronic devices and data storage. It is also possible to generate dark images via mechanochromic luminescence quenching (MLQ) through the substitution of these materials with heavy atoms like, Cl, Br, and I. Reversible mechanochromic luminescence is known for difluoroboron β-diketonates (BF2bdks). However, it was recently discovered that high contrast ML is also observable for uncoordinated dinaphthoylmethane (dnm) ligands. In order to probe the effects of electron donation and heavy atom substitution on dnm ligands a series of bromo and methoxy substituted bdks and their boronated counterparts were synthesized. The optical properties of the ligands and boronated complexes were compared in solution and using thin films. In addition to ML, the lack of coordination in dnm ligands allows for aggregation induced emission (AIE) via restriction of intermolecular motions (RIM), and enhanced room temperature recovery times, which were not observed in boron complexes. The recovery time of the methoxy-substituted dnm ligand (dnmOMe) was studied in depth using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera. A relationship between the recovery time and the amount of force applied was established.
Presenter #16: Tristan Butler, Chemistry
Oxygen Sensing Difluoroboron Dinaphthoylmethane Polylactide
Key Words: Difluoroboron diketonate complexes, Poly(lactic acid), Room-temperature phosphorescence, hypoxia imaging
Abstract: Dual emissive luminescence properties of solid-state difluoroboron beta-diketonate-poly(lactic acid) (BF2bdk-PLA) materials have been utilized as biological oxygen sensors. Dyes with red-shifted absorption and emission are important for multiplexing and in vivo imaging, thus hydroxyl-functionalized dinaphthoylmethane initiators and dye-PLA conjugates BF2dnm(X)PLA (X = H, Br, I) with extended conjugation were synthesized. The luminescent materials show red-shifted absorbance (~435 nm) and fluorescence tunability by molecular weight. Fluorescence colors range from yellow (~530 nm) in 10 - 12 kDa polymers to green (~490 nm) in 20 - 30 kDa polymers. Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) are present under a nitrogen atmosphere. For the iodine-substituted derivative, BF2dnm(I)PLA, clearly distinguishable fluorescence (green) and phosphorescence (orange) peaks are present, making it ideal for ratiometric oxygen-sensing and imaging. Bromide and hydrogen analogues with weaker relative phosphorescence intensities and longer phosphorescence lifetimes can be used as highly sensitive, concentration independent, lifetime-based oxygen sensors or for gated emission detection. BF2dnm(I)PLA nanoparticles were taken up by T41 mouse mammary cells and successfully demonstrated differences in vitro ratiometric measurement of oxygen.
Presenter #17: Christopher DeRosa, Chemistry
The Effects of Alpha Substitution and Strapped Structure on the Mechanochromic Luminescence and Aggregation-Induced Emission Behavior of Difluoroboron β-Diketonate Dyes
Key Words: Mechanochromic Luminescence (ML), Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE), Intramolecular Charge Transfer (ICT)
Abstract: Difluoroboron β-diketonate (BF2bdk) dyes are known for their impressive luminescence properties. Among these are high quantum efficiencies in solution and mechanochromic luminescence (ML) as solids. Arene effects have been studied but substitution at the alpha carbon of the β-diketonate ligand has yet to be rigorously investigated. BF2bdks often possess planar structures due to the restriction of molecular rotations afforded by the BF2 moiety and extended arene conjugation. Given increased steric demand, substitution at the alpha position could force these dyes to adopt non-planar configurations, and exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) character. Furthermore, if mechanochromism arises from the formation of H-aggregates upon smearing, substitution at the alpha position could hinder formation of these aggregates and affect ML. To test this hypothesis, BF2bdk derivatives with substituents at the alpha position (i.e. nitrile, phenyl, methyl, and strapped derivatives) were synthesized. Difluoroboron dibenzoylethane (BF2dbe(OMe)2) exhibits bright blue emission in the solid state as-isolated. However, the compound is practically non-emissive in solution (φF = 0.001 in CH2Cl2). Furthermore, BF2dbe(OMe)2 shows clear AIE behavior in DMSO/H2O. Meanwhile, the difluoroboron 2-benzoyl-1-tetralone derivative, BF2bt(OMe)2 also exhibits AIE behavior in DMSO/H2O and a much higher quantum efficiency (φF = 0.61 in CH2Cl2). The higher quantum yield is most likely due to the strapped structure restricting molecular rotations on one side of the BF2bdk. Computational analyses using density functional theory (DFT), lend further credence to these assertions.
Presenter #18: Bill Morris, Chemistry
Parallel Ion Parking for Kinetic Control of Ion-Ion Reactions
Key Words: Mass Spectrometry, Proteomics, Ion Trap, ETD, IIPT
Abstract: In the past decade, technological advances in resolution, speed, and sensitivity have made top-down proteomics of proteins feasible. An alternative to traditional bottom-up strategies, top-down analysis enables a "big picture" view of the entire protein by negating the need for enzymatic digestion. However, the high charge states produced by electrospray ionization of proteins have proven problematic. The rate of electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and ion-ion proton transfer (IIPT), which are used to fragment and charge-reduce protein cations respectively, is dependent on the square of the charge of the reactants involved. Thus, when dealing with highly charged precursors, the reaction occurs very quickly, and highly charged, informative first generation products are often lost because they continue to react. To combat this, we have developed a set of broadband waveforms that are applied during ETD and IIPT. Each stored ion in an ion trap oscillates at a frequency that is dependent on its mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). Therefore, the inclusion of a given frequency range in the applied waveform excites the corresponding m/z range, decreasing the reactivity of selected ions, while no effect is felt by the remainder of the ions in the trap. Here we illustrate the ability of our method to dramatically increase sequence coverage by preserving first generation products of ETD fragmentation. Additionally, we demonstrate that kinetic control of IIPT charge reduction can be used to reduce the complexity of protein mixtures. When used in concert, these novel tools will enable a more complete understanding of protein structure.
Presenter #19: Scott Ugrin, Chemistry
Social and Behavioral Sciences Poster Presentations
1:15-3:15 pm, Newcomb Ballroom
I Don't Remember, Do You? Children's Emerging Abilities to Seek Help with Remembering
Key Words: transactive memory, metamemory, child development
Abstract: We routinely rely on other people to remember information for us-from when we should take medication to what we did on a vacation years ago. In order to make effective use of another person's memory, it is essential that the person have a good memory for the information in question. We investigated whether 5- and 7-year-olds can defer strategically to someone else's memory when they are uncertain about their own. Children studied a series of difficult-to-remember images (abstract shapes). They were then given a recognition test consisting of pairs of images (one old and one new). For each pair, they decided whether they wanted to answer or pass that pair to a helper whose answer would count for them. Half the children had previously seen that the helper had a good memory for abstract shapes and half had seen that she had a bad memory for abstract shapes. Children's confidence in their own memory was also assessed. Both five- and seven-year-olds relied on their own confidence to decide whether to answer. Seven-year-olds also incorporated the helper's ability into their decisions-they strategically avoided the helper when she had a bad memory-while five-year-olds did not. Neither age group took strategic advantage of the helper when she had a good memory. These results suggest that by seven years of age children are somewhat strategic when deferring to others' memory, but avoidance of a helper who will be wrong may be a stronger influence than approach to a helper who will be correct.
Presenter #20: Shaina Rowell, Psychology
"She didn't even say sorry!" Children remember when transgressors fail to apologize
Key Words: source memory, apologies, social cognition
Abstract: Research in early social cognition suggests young children may be predisposed to have a negativity bias that serves as a mechanism to protect them from harmful situations. In the study here, we asked whether young children would be more likely to remember a transgressor who failed to apologize than one who apologized. Six and 7-year-olds heard a series of 18 vignettes, each associated with a child's face. In 6 vignettes, the child committed an accidental transgression and said "I'm sorry;" in 6 vignettes, the child committed an accidental transgression and said "Oh well;" and in 6 vignettes, no transgression occurred and the vignette ended with the child saying "OK". Children participated in a recognition memory phase of 36 trials, half of which included faces from the study phase and half of which included new faces. Children indicated whether they had seen a character earlier and, if so, they were asked to decide whether that character had said, "I'm sorry," "Oh well," or "OK." Children's memory for a character's face did not vary as a function of whether that character had transgressed or apologized. However, when children recognized a character as "old," they were more likely to correctly remember what those who had failed to apologize said ("Oh well") than to remember what those who had apologized said ("I'm sorry"). Remembering if a face was encountered in a negative context is likely to be more useful for guiding future interactions than simply remembering the face.
Presenter #21: Marissa Drell, Psychology
Break-Up Instability in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: Are Violent Relationships Difficult to End?
Key Words: teen dating violence, development
Abstract: Previous research suggests that almost all adolescents have experienced the dissolution of a romantic relationship, suggesting that "breaking-up" with a romantic partner is a developmentally normative part of adolescence (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009). While many adolescents appear to transition out of romantic relationships with little to no difficulty (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009), some adolescents experience precarious outcomes, including intense negative emotions, substance use, violence, and in some drastic cases, the death of one or both partners (e.g. Larson et al., 1999; abc News Report, 2006). Yet, surprisingly little is known about the process of breaking-up in adolescence. Further, while previous research on adults suggests that violent relationships are particularly difficult to end (Rusbult & Martz, 1995), little is known about the process of successfully dissolving abusive relationships among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine whether adolescents experience variation in how stably - or unstably - their romantic relationships dissolve, and whether characteristics of adolescents' relationships relate to the degree to which they experience break-up instability. In particular, we examined whether adolescents (like adults) experience difficulty leaving abusive relationships. We built upon on relational investment theory (Rusbult & Martz, 1995), which suggests that women in abusive relationships are less likely to successfully leave given increased investment in the relationship (e.g. longer relationship length, emotional intimacy, commitment). Specifically, we tested whether adolescent relationships were more difficult to end if they involved high levels of violence and intimacy.
Presenter #22: Alison Nagel, Psychology
Compensatory Neural Activity during Social Perception Associated with Autistic-Like Traits in Healthy Adults
Key Words: social perception, broad autism phenotype, fMRI
Abstract: Navigating a complex, fluctuating social world requires the ability to perceive, interpret, and respond appropriately to social cues. As such, human perceptual systems preferentially detect and attend to social stimuli such as biological motion (bio-motion). Accurate perception of bio-motion is necessary for interpreting others' actions and emotions. Individuals with social deficits, such as those diagnosed with autism, are impaired in bio-motion perception. However, there is great variability across individuals in social-perceptual abilities, and it is increasingly understood that diagnosed individuals comprise one end of a spectrum of behaviors that extends to the general population. This study examined the relationship between bio-motion perception and the broader autism phenotype (BAP), which refers to milder autistic characteristics that are normally distributed within the population. Forty-nine healthy adults passively viewed point-light displays of bio-motion while undergoing fMRI before completing a self-report assessment of the BAP. Analyses revealed a significant association between BAP traits and neural activation in regions supporting social inference, including prefrontal cortex and left temporal lobe. Specifically, individuals with more autistic-like traits had greater activation of these areas, which might reflect a compensatory mechanism by which individuals high on BAP traits overcome diminished perception of bio-motion. Automatically evoking neural systems supporting social inference may facilitate accurate interpretation of bio-motion for these individuals. Forming adequate social bonds is among the most critical factors for a healthy life. Linking neural variability to social abilities reveals a potential biological marker underlying successful social functioning and may inform future interventions for individuals with poor social abilities.
Presenter #23: Meghan Puglia, Psychology